The Tip of a Blade
by Cosmokitt
Summary: A few years pass after the incident at the opera house, and the Phantom himself finds himself as a part of a group of the homeless in France, who are run by a woman whose tongue is as sharp as the blade she carries. Both are too afraid to admit their feelings for each other, but more than just their stubbornness continues to pull them apart.
1. Chapter 1 (Part 1)

Rain fell and fog layered the streets as a tall cloaked man slunk around a corner in the early morning. The man yawned and leaned against a street lamp, his eyes drooping under his cowl. He looked up as he saw a fellow traveler walking along the cobblestone. They were tall and slender, with think hips and shoulders, face hidden by a cloak as well. They glanced around as they reached the street corner, face hidden. Erik Destler leaned forward, squinting his eyes, trying to get a better look at them. They seemed to be waiting for someone, a bag swung from their arm. Erik's stomach rumbled with hunger when he saw the bag was filled with apples. He unsheathed his blade slowly from under his cloak, moving forward. The person couldn't see him, and he slunk up behind them silently. With a flick of his wrist, he slashed a hole in the bag, green apples spilling free. Erik lunged forward and grabbed a few, shoving them into his cloak.  
"Shit!" The cloaked figure said, spinning around and brandishing their own blade. Erik turned and tried to run, but the other swordsman clipped him under the legs, causing him to fall face first into the road.  
"I don't take kindly to thieves." The person said, lifting their epee. Erik raised his blade before the other man could strike. The metal clashed, and Erik got to his feet to accept the challenge from the other man. The street was still empty, so no one could see their brawl.  
Erik swore and dodged a blow that almost hit his arm, countering it quickly before initiating an attack of his own. The other man blocked it easy, lifting his leg and planting a boot in the middle of Erik's chest, forcing him back into a nearby alley.  
Erik was winded, and the man took advantage of this, grabbing Erik's arm with one hand and twisting it, flipping Erik onto the ground. He held Erik's arm behind his back, placing his boot there to keep him down.  
"Would you be so kind as to return those please?"  
Erik ripped his arm from the man's grasp, knocking them over as he jumped to his feet. As the person hit the ground hard, knocking off their cowl, and Erik stared at the face that had been hidden by the cloak.  
"You're a woman...?"  
In his moment of stunned hesitation, she leapt to her feet, pinning him against the back wall of the alley, her sword against his throat.  
"Checkmate." She smiled and held out a hand. Erik returned his bounty begrudging. He raised a hand to his face and realized the rag that had been slung over his disfigurement was gone. This woman wasn't at all phased by his less than common place appearance.  
"I don't tolerate thievery." She said.  
"I'm sorry," Erik muttered, placing a hand over his exposed disfigurement.  
The woman looked him up and down, running a hand through her short hair. She was tall and slender, wearing mostly men's clothing. She wore a loose white shirt, tight black trousers, and black heeled boots. The only thing remotely effeminate about her was the gold locket that hung around her neck. She had a bold nose and dark eyes, and from a distance, she would easily be mistaken for a man.  
"Sorry doesn't feed my people."  
"Your people?"  
The woman shook her head, lifting the hood of her cloak so it covered her face. She looked him up and down, an eyebrow raised. "Where are you headed?"  
"No where." Erik muttered. The truth was, since the incident at the opera house, he really only wandered from place to place. He had thought often of leaving France, but he didn't have the heart. The past couple of months he had found his way back to Paris. He was sure more than a year had passed of him living this way. He had hoped that one day he would just disappear and no one would even remember him. But, that was difficult when he had to steal to survive.  
"Do you even have anywhere to go back to?" She asked.  
Erik shook his head, lifting his cowl so it would somewhat cover his face.  
She considered him for a moment. "You fight well."  
"So do you." Erik murmured.  
"What's your name?"  
Erik was getting annoyed by the questions. "It's Erik." He snapped. "What's yours?"  
A few moments of hesitation passed before she answered with, "Celeste."  
That name did not suit her. A name like Celeste was more fit for a lady, rather than this woman.  
"Well, Erik, if you've got no where to go, how about I offer you a job?"  
"A job." Erik said blankly.  
"Yes. You handled yourself well enough with that sword, I'm sure you'll be useful." She adjusted her bag of apples, holding it so no more apples spilled from the rip. She waved him over then began walking down the alley back towards the street. Confused, Erik followed her cautiously. Night was falling, and street lamps were being lit and rain still dripped from the sky. Celeste's boots clicked on the cobblestone as she walked confidently towards her destination. She turned down a street where most everything was shut down or out of business. She led him to an old bakery, which had all the windows boarded up.  
"So, I run a clean operation here." Celeste explained. "So thievery is not tolerated. We all earn our keep."  
"What is your operation?" Erik demanded.  
Celeste cleared her throat. "Purgatory, which I what we call the bakery, is a safe place for people to live, people who are homeless and have no where else to go. I keep them safe and fed. Otherwise, they'd end up dead in the street somewhere or in jail. A lot of them are just kids, though we do have plenty adults who were thrown out after the war." She shrugged. "But I need people like you and me. The underbelly of France is dangerous, and I need to keep them safe."  
Erik stood there for a moment, completely baffled. "Why... Why are you telling me all this? Trusting me?"  
Celeste knocked on one of the boarded windows and hopped up onto a box. "Because, no one except someone who was desperate would steal an apple. But you didn't try to steal any money I had one me, which tells me you viewed the apple as inconsequential to me."  
Erik cocked his head. "You could tell that from a stolen apple?"  
She sighed. "You held back when you fought me. I think if you really wanted to kill me, would would have done more to hurt me."  
A board lifted from inside the window. And a girl with long curly black hair stuck her head out.  
"Looks like you have company." She said.  
"Let let us in," Celeste muttered, rocking back and forth on her heels.  
"You got it boss," the girl stuck her head back in, and a door swung open. The raven haired girl stood there, wearing a tattered blue dress that was patched together in several places. She had dark skin and dark eyes, and she couldn't be more that 18. Erik could tell just by looking at her she was of gypsy decent.  
"Who is this?" She asked.  
"Raven, this is Erik. Erik, this is Raven."  
"Hello," Raven waved to Erik. Erik raised his hand halfheartedly to wave back.  
"Come on," Celeste motioned them inside.  
The top floor of the bakery looked like it was used for storage; crates of food and clothes lined the walls neatly. Another girl was in the room, sitting on a chair, bouncing her foot impatiently. She wore something similar to what Celeste wore, but sporting a jacket and a cap. Unlike Raven, who was short and petite, this girl was tall and lanky, with straw blonde hair. The most peculiar thing about her was a thin scar around her neck.  
"Thank god you're back," the girl said, her voice scratchy and hoarse. "I'm ready to pass out."  
"Just hang on a minute, Devynn, I have to get Erik settled." Celeste said, shutting and bolting the door behind her. She kicked open a crate and pulled out a bundle of blankets, tossing them to Erik. "Here. And this of course." She held up an apple and handed it to him.  
"Thanks." Erik muttered, smiling slightly.  
"You can drop that hood." Celeste added. "No one will judge you here.  
Erik ignored her, keeping his face covered. Raven peered under the cowl, trying to see if she could tell what was wrong with Erik's face. He turned his head away, looking to Celeste. His head felt like it was spinning, since this was the most human interaction he's had since he left the opera house.  
Celeste opened a trap door in the floor, lighting a candle also she could see. Erik followed her as she headed down the stairs. People lied in sleeping heaps on the floor, some hanging in hammocks. Erik found an unused corner and rolled out his blankets, using a few to pad the ground beneath him, and one to keep him covered. With that, he fell into troubled sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Erik's eyes opened slowly, and as he emerged into consciousness, he realized something was watching him. He propped himself up on his elbows, rubbing an eye with one fist as his eyes came into focus. A boy was sitting a couple feet away from him, his legs crossed and his head cocked. He couldn't be more than six or seven years old. He had a large red birthmark covering more than half his face. He was staring at Erik very intently with big brown eyes.  
"What happened to your face?" The boy asked.  
"I was born with it," Erik muttered gruffly.  
"My face is all messed up too," the boy said, pointing to his cheek.  
"I didn't notice."  
The boy smiled. "You must be blind, then. I'm Raydon. What's your name?"  
"I'm Erik." He said, rubbing the back of his neck. Raydon was still staring at him. "Do you...need something?"  
"No." The boy shrugged.  
Erik looked around the room. He spotted Raven and Devynn sleeping a few feet away, Raven laying on Devynn's chest with the other girl's arm wrapped around her. Erik smiled slightly, happy that those two girls could still find friendship even in a situation like this. Celeste was in the corner, sitting on a stool and her slumped against the wall, sleeping. Erik stood, and Raydon followed suit.  
"Where are you going?" Raydon asked.  
"Just upstairs, so I don't bother anyone," Erik murmured, and like a shadow, Raydon followed him up the stairs.  
Small rays of sunlight shone through the gaps in the boards covering the windows, and Erik could see every dust particle his feet disturbed hanging in the air. He took in a deep breath and sighed, looking around at all the crates. His stomach ached for food, but he didn't want to make Celeste mad by taking anything that wasn't his. Raydon seemed to be hungry as well, but he walked over to one of the crates and pulled out two bundles wrapped in brown paper. Raydon handed one to Erik.  
"It's our rations," he explained, "we get two a day."  
Erik pulled on the twine holding the paper together. Inside was a few links of sausage, a piece of bread, some cheese, and a few apple slices. Erik smiled as he nibbled on the corner of an apple slice. He sat on a crate, leaning back against the wall.  
"Raydon, how long have you been with Celeste?"  
Raydon thought for a moment. "Two years. I was five when she found me." He explained. "I was in an orphanage. And then I ran away, and she found me."  
"Why did you run away?"  
Raydon shifted. "They were cruel at the orphanage. And there was this...this baby. She was so small, and she was like me. A little. She had this birthmark on her forehead." He touched the spot on his own forehead. "One day she got sick, and none of the nurses did anything to help her. She died, and I got sad. So I left." Raydon explained.  
Erik nodded slowly. "Do you know what happened to your parents?"  
Raydon shook his head. "No idea."  
They both looked over as Celeste came up the stairs. Her dark eyes took Erik in for a second before she sighed, pulling her cloak off a box.  
"I'm going out, don't wait up," she muttered, kicking open the door and heading out.  
"Well then." Erik muttered.  
"She does that a lot." Raven said, her head bobbing above the trap door. "Don't take it personal." She still wore the same dress from yesterday, and she ran a brush through her messy curls. Devynn appeared next to her. "Would you mind accompanying us somewhere? Celeste said that she brought you here to help protect us."  
"Uh, sure." Erik murmured. He grabbed his cloak and sword and put them on quickly.  
"Stay here, Raydon." Raven said.  
"Where are we going?"  
Raven lifted a black curl. "We're going to sell our hair."  
Devynn nodded. "We help out in what ways we can, and wig makers will buy Raven's hair for a pretty penny." Devynn ran her fingers through it. "Though I will miss it." Devynn shook her head and pulled her hand away. "They won't give me as much for mine, but any little bit helps."  
Erik followed them out of the bakery, hand on the hilt of his sword, his hold up again so no one would see his face.  
Erik stayed quiet as he trailed off behind the girls as they headed for their destination. He thought about how quickly things had changed in the matter of 24 hours, going to being a hermit, to being a strong arm for a ragtag group of the homeless. He kept an eye on the two girls, while also glancing around and making sure no one bothered them. They stood very close to each other, whispering and giggling.  
"So, Erik," Devynn asked. "Where did Celeste find you?"  
Erik shrugged. "She just found me wandering. Well, not before she kicked my ass after I tried to steal an apple from her."  
Raven snickered. "I would have liked to see that."  
When they reached the barber, Erik waited outside for Raven and Devynn. He leaned against a wall, trying to look as casual and non threatening as possible. Luckily it was another rainy day, so a lot of people walked the streets of Paris with their heads covered. He caught himself wondering about Christine, and what she was doing on this dreary day. Since the opera house, he thought of Christine less and less, but he still thought of her, nonetheless. He hoped she was happy.  
Erik looked up as Raven and Devynn emerged. Their hair now only reached their chins, and Raven pulled hers back into a small ponytail at the back of her neck.  
"Well at least we have this," she lifted her purse and hefted it so it jingled a little.  
"How else do you guys make money?" Erik asked as they headed for the bakery.  
"We all find odd jobs, fixing things, transporting things, stuff like that. Celeste does something, and she earns most of the money."  
Erik nodded, going silent again.


	3. Chapter 3

Erik stirred in his sleep, lifting his head and rubbing his eyes. It was still dark, and he wondered what had woke him. He peered through the darkness, and he saw a figure moving on the other side of the room. He sat up, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the dark. It was Celeste, who was rummaging around in a bag. She then headed up the stairs. Erik wondered where she was going, but was too tired to care, and laid his head back down and fell asleep.

That morning, Erik folded his blankets and set them in his little corner where he slept. He touched the side of his face self consciously, where he could feel the lumps and bumps of his deformity. He reached down and grabbed his cloak, fearing a strip of fabric off the bottom. He tied it around his head and his face, cutting off half of his vision, but at least he was no longer so exposed. His blonde hair had grown thicker in the past year or so. When he was the opera ghost and wore that wig, he cut it as short as he could, and he constantly wearing it severely thinned out his hair. Now, it was longer and thicker than it had been in years. He touched it gingerly, wondering if anyone would be able to recognize him like this.  
"You don't need to cover your face, you know."  
Erik turned his head and saw Celeste standing there, buttoning up her top. He caught a glimpse of her chest, which was bound tight, giving the impression of her having a flat chest.  
"I've hidden my face for so long, I don't know how to live otherwise." Erik muttered.  
"That's a large blind spot you've got there." She said.  
"What?"  
She drew her epee smoothly, balancing the hilt in her hand. "In order to cover your face you have to cover your eye." She kicked aside some of the folded blankets on the floor. Some of the people that still remained in the basement of the bakery moved to the wall, whispering and watching expectantly. "Fight me." She said, taking hold of the grip on her sword. "Wearing that, fight me."  
Erik sighed, leaning over and grabbing his own blade. "What is this going to prove?" He asked, lifting the epee.  
"I'll let you figure that out." She shrugged. She lunged and he countered her easily, but as the battle heated up, it was harder for him to keep track of Celeste. He grit his teeth, determined not to let her win. She lunged again and Erik leapt out of the way so she fell forward, staggering. Erik brought his elbow against her ribs on her left side, and she buckled over, gasping for air. Since her chest was bound so tightly, Erik knew that would be a weak point.  
"You bastard!" She gasped, doubled over, hands on her knees.  
Erik spread his hands, smiling. "Seems I've won."  
Celeste moved faster than Erik anticipated, bringing up her sword and knocking the fabric from his face, but not without tearing a gash in his face.  
"Bitch!" Erik yelled, clapping a hand to his now bleeding face.  
"You're too cocky." Celeste muttered. "Thinking you could fight with your eye covered, and thinking you'd won just because your opponent seemed to be incapacitated."  
Erik turned away from her, and she did the same, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw her nursing her side where he hit her as she walked back up the stairs.  
"Come on," Raven grabbed Erik's arm, pulling him away. Devynn was cackling.  
"That was great," she wheezed.  
"Oh hush, Dev." Raven muttered, sitting Erik down and dabbing at the cut on his face. "You're an idiot, I hope you know that."  
"Me?" Erik asked. "Why?"  
Raven just gave him a stern look and continued tending his wounds.

Celeste unwound the bandages wrapped around her chest, her labored breathing becoming easier. She lifted her arm to see that where Erik had stuck her had turned purple and blue, and every time she inhaled she felt a sharp stab of pain.  
"Damn it." She muttered. Because she bound her chest so tightly, the compression combined with Erik's elbow might have just cracked her rib. She kicked a stool over. "Fuck!"  
"Taking things out on the furniture?" Raven was standing at the top of the stairs. "I just took care of your handy work on Erik's face. What's gotten into you?"  
"I don't like men in masks." Celeste muttered. "It's the sign of a coward. And I don't want cowards working for me."  
Raven lifted Celeste's shirt, examining the bruise.  
"I told you to stop binding."  
"I can't fight with my breasts bouncing around." Celeste muttered. "And I feel more comfortable with my chest flat."  
"I know, but then this happens." Raven let the shirt fall.  
"Why are you the voice of reason?" Celeste muttered, shrugging her shirt off and picking up the bandages. Raven kept her eyes firmly on Celeste's face, careful not to look down at her exposed chest.  
"Are you dealing going to bind again?"  
"Loosely." Celeste said defensively. "Just tight enough to keep these things in check. But not tight enough to hurt my rib."  
Raven shook her head again. "You're hopeless."  
"Shut up," Celeste shrugged her shirt back on, doing up the buttons. She pulled a brown vest out of her box of clothes, hoping wearing that would help conceal her breasts.  
"Are you going out again tonight?"  
"Yeah," Celeste said. "I can't afford not to."


	4. Chapter 4

Leaning against the back wall of the basement, Erik sat, reading his book in the light of the candle flickering next to him. He turned a page, squinting slightly in order to see the page properly. Even after his duel with Celeste a few weeks ago, he had gone back to covering his face.  
"What are you reading?" Erik lowered his book and saw Raydon staring at him expectantly.  
"Shouldn't you be asleep?" Erik asked quietly.  
He shrugged. "What are you reading? I don't know how."  
"You don't?" Erik asked.  
"No."  
Erik opened his mouth to respond but stopped to listen as he heard the clicking of heals on the floor above.  
"I'll be right back, Raydon." Erik muttered, standing and stepping over the sleeping bodies scattered on the floor. He jogged up the stairs in time to see Celeste's cloak whip around the edge of the door as it shut. Erik pulled on his cloak over his shoulders, waiting for a minute before following her. Every night since he had started living in purgatory, Celeste slips out and returns just before daybreak. Erik wondered why he even cared about what Celeste was doing. Truth be told, he didn't even like her very much. Ever since that fight where he dug her in the ribs and she cut his face she had hardly spoke to him, and when she did it was coldly. But despite his lack of caring on Celeste's part, he did actually care for some of the people he's met in that bakery. Raydon had seemed to have imprinted on him and Raven and Devynn were good company.  
Erik peered from behind a trash bin as he saw her enter a bar. Erik wondered how long he should wait before going inside, and determined that he should give it a good ten minutes before following her inside.  
Once he was satisfied he had waited long enough, he kept his hood up and strode into the bar.  
It was loud and noisy, with lots of drunk men laughing and yelling at each other. Erik glanced around, looking for Celeste. He spotted her in the corner, sitting at a table with a bunch of other men. Erik made his way to the bar and ordered a drink, throwing down a few coins. He didn't really intend on drinking, but he figured having a drink in his hand would help him blend in.  
Drink acquired, Erik turned on his stool and watched Celeste. She had a cards in her hands, and she appeared to be gambling. Erik ground his teeth, suddenly angry. This is what she spent her time doing?  
Celeste looked up and their eyes met for a moment. Her expression changed and she looked like she was going to stand and confront him, but her attention was diverted to the door. Two police officers had entered the bar and were headed in their direction.  
Celeste stood, collecting her money off the table, and she was headed for the back of the bar. Erik followed her, trying to keep his face hidden from the police. The opera ghost incident was still fresh in people's minds and probably would be for a while, and half the Paris police had been there the night of the Don Juan, so there was a 50/50 chance that he could get recognized.  
Celeste slipped out the back before she could be noticed, and Erik was right on her tail.  
"Why did you follow me?" Celeste demanded, once they were in the alley behind the bar.  
"I wanted to know where you snuck off to every night." Erik muttered. "Only to find out you're gambling!"  
Celeste grit her teeth and grabbed his arm. "We have to get out of here."  
Erik stayed put. "Why are you so afraid of the police?"  
Celeste moved past him, apparently with the intention to leave him behind. Erik had no desire to be arrested either, so he trailed behind her and didn't stop to question her again until they were a safe distance from the bar.  
"You didn't answer my question."  
"I don't have to." Celeste snapped. "I don't owe you anything."  
"But if you're some criminal, those people you helped are all in danger. And on top of that, you're gambling away the money they earn, and-" Erik was cut off by a boot to the chest. He staggered back, the wind knocked out of him.  
"You don't know what you're talking about." Celeste snapped.  
"Why," Erik wheezed, "is fighting me your only way of communication?"  
"Because that's all that seems to penetrate your thick skull!" She brushed a piece of her bangs out of her eyes. "Let's get back to purgatory."  
"Celeste!" Erik grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Celeste, what did you do that made the police come after you?"  
She stared him up and down for a minute before pulling her arm away. "It's none of your damn business."  
Erik pushed her up against the wall of a building that was behind her, keeping a hand placed in the middle of her chest. "It's my business if you put that place in danger because of something you did."  
"What about you?" Celeste snarled. "I know who you are."  
Erik's blood ran cold. "What?"  
"A disfigured man running around the streets of Paris, it was just too easy to put two and two together. I read the papers when all that went down. I have you a second chance because I know how facts get lost in translation, but don't you dare say I'm putting my people in danger when you also have an entire police department that's more than willing to find you and take you down."  
Erik moved his hand from her chest, so she was no longer pinned to the wall.  
"I had no idea you knew about any of that. Anyone in their right mind wouldn't let me near them if they knew what you did."  
Celeste straightened her shirt, eyeing him angrily. "Like I said, I believe in second chances. And you have done nothing wrong while you've known me. Except being a jackass. You've been good with my people so I felt no need to bring it up." She moved past him, and Erik knew that this conversation was over.


	5. Chapter 5

Erik hefted the bag on potatoes he was carrying and slung them over his shoulder so they were easier to carry. He turned down the street where the bakery was, and his aching arm was grateful. He set the bag down in front of the door and he reached for the window so he could knock on it, but he paused. He thought he heard something on the other side of the building. He left the bag by the door and circled the building to the alley on the left side. He for sure had heard something, and now he could clearly head talking and giggling. He rounded the corner and was alarmed by what he saw.  
"What are you two doing?" He asked as Devynn and Raven stepped away from each other.  
"Uh," Raven's entire face had turned bright red. "We were just,"  
"Nothing," Devynn said, becoming defensive. "Leave us alone." She stood in front of Raven, her chest heaving with anger.  
"Easy," Erik muttered. "I was just shocked. I don't care what you two do."  
Devynn deflated, and Raven grabbed her hand and squeezed it.  
"Sorry, we're used to a less than accepting attitude of our relationship." Raven explained.  
"I understand. You've seen my face." Erik muttered. "People don't exactly come around to that either."  
Raven and Devynn exchanged looks, and Devynn was still blushing.  
"Sorry." She muttered.  
"It's okay." They walked back to the front of the bakery, where Erik retrieved his potatoes and they all went inside. "How long have you two been together?"  
"Three years." Devynn said. "Since before Celeste found us."  
"I used to be a circus performer," Raven said. "I was performed on the trapeze, I was Miss Fleck, half bird, half woman. That was my act, and when I came to Paris, Devynn came and saw all my shows. Until the accident..." She lifted her dress and Erik saw the metal brace on her leg. "A wire broke during a performance and I dropped my partner, and he bounce off the net and died. I still managed to hang on to the bar that was still attached to the other wire, but not before I crushed my leg swinging into the side of the platform. The broken bones in my leg were never set properly, and I need this brace in order to stand properly." Raven let her skirts fall. "The accident is how the circus closed."  
"And how we ended up with Celeste." Devynn added quickly.  
"What about your parents?"  
"They threw us out." Devynn said. "Her parents didn't want her and neither did mine."  
Erik could tell this was a touchy subject for Devynn so he let it go.  
"Well I'm glad you're here now." Erik said. "And I hope things go better for you two."  
"Thanks," Raven smiled. She beckoned to Devynn and they disappeared into one of the back rooms of the Bakery. Erik set the potatoes on a crate in the corner, and in the process he accidentally knocked down a bag, which spilled its contents onto the floor. He stooped down, picking a few cards from a deck that were scattered on the floor. He turned the card over in his fingers. It was the queen of clubs. Erik gathered up the cards, shoving them back in the bag, along with a pair of six sided dice. Erik wondered what kind of games Celeste played when she went out at night.  
"What are you doing?" Celeste barked, coming up behind him. "Don't you know it's rude to go through a lady's things?"  
"Yes, but I see no lady." Erik muttered.  
"Excuse me?" Celeste demanded.  
"Nothing. I didn't know it was your stuff. I knocked it over on accident." Erik stood, shoving the bag into her chest. "Here."  
Celeste gripped the back in a white knuckles grip. "You piece of-"  
"Celeste," Raven had appeared behind Celeste, grabbing her arm. "Come on." She muttered.

Raven led Celeste out of the bakery, and into the little alley way next to it. Raven sat on an empty crate and patted the space next to her, indicating that Celeste should do the same.  
"What has you all riled up?" Raven asked. "You have a temper but I've never seen you lash out this much."  
"I'm still pissed about my broken rib," Celeste muttered.  
"No, this is about Erik," Raven said, "and how he found you had a weakness and exploited it. Now you're just being the worlds largest iron bitch."  
Celeste folded her arms, looking away from Raven.  
"Do you like Erik?"  
"Of course I don't!" Celeste snapped. "He's arrogant, and sits all day in self-loathing over his face,"  
"He's also very kind. And he's good with Raydon. He also found out about Devynn and I, and he didn't care." Raven said. "He is a man in pain, and I feel like he's trying to make up for something. Just like you." Raven cocked her head. "You need to forgive yourself for what happened,"  
Celeste gripped the locket that hung around her neck. "I need some air. Just... Leave me alone."  
Celeste stood up and walked out into the street, grateful that Raven let her leave and didn't follow Celeste.  
Night was falling, and she figured she might as well hit up her usual gambling taverns. She counted the money she had in her pockets and then went on her way.  
She stopped in the middle of the road when she noticed there was a large lump sitting against one of the buildings, and she could hear the lump whispering something. Celeste approached them cautiously.  
"Hello?" Celeste asked.  
It was a woman who sat in a bundle of blankets, holding something tightly in her arms.  
"What do you want?" She asked. Celeste could tell she was very beautiful, but grim covered her features. She had long tangles curly hair that was chestnut brown and large dark eyes. She appeared to be holding a baby in her arms.  
"I want to help," Celeste murmured. "How long have you been out here?"  
"About a week," she muttered.  
"And your baby, how old are they?"  
"She's only three months old." The woman sniffed. "They tried to take her, but I wouldn't let them. She's all I have left of him," she looked up at Celeste, her eyes shining with tears. "Her name is Roxanne."  
"Come on," Celeste held out her hand. "I'll take you somewhere safe."  
"Safe?" The woman muttered.  
"Yeah. I have food for you, and I'm sure we can figure out something for the little one."  
"I'm still breastfeeding. Or at least I would be if I've had anything to eat." She muttered.  
"There's that problem solved, come on." Celeste helped her to her feet. She led her back toward the bakery.  
"Why are you out here, on the streets?"  
"It's my husband's family. They thought I married him because I wanted his money, and when he got sick they thought I was poisoning him. After he died they threw me out. Simone was the only one on my side, but she got married off to some guy on the other side of France." She wiped her eyes with a hand. "I miss him."  
"It's okay." Celeste murmured. "Where you're going, it's safe."  
The woman nodded. Celeste knocked on the window to be let in to the bakery.  
"I'm Celeste, by the way." She said as the door swung open.  
"I'm Ch-" Her words were cut off by the sounds of her scream.


	6. Chapter 6

Erik looked up from his conversation with Devynn when he heard someone scream. A woman stood with Celeste in the door way.  
"It's you!" She cried, and Erik recognized her instantly.  
"Christine," he breathed. "What are you doing here?"  
"You're supposed to be dead," Christine muttered. "You can't be here, I can't be here, I need to leave, I can't,"  
"Hold on a minute," Celeste said, putting her hands on Christine's shoulders. "You need rest, and food. Just come down stairs with me, I promise he won't hurt you. Think of your daughter."  
Erik looked down and saw that Christine was indeed carrying a bundle of blankets that contained a baby. Christine nodded and she followed Celeste, but while staying as far away from Erik as she possibly could.  
"What was that about?" Raven asked. "Who was that woman?"  
"That was Christine Daae." Erik muttered, feeling his heart turn to ice. When he had let Christine go with Raoul, it was because Erik believed that Raoul would be able to make Christine happy for the rest of her days. So why was she here?  
"The opera singer?" Devynn asked.  
"The very same."  
"How do you know that?" Raven asked.  
"My mother really liked opera, but how does the famous Christine Daae know you?"  
"A long time ago I was..." Erik hesitated, "her teacher. We have a complicated history."  
"Obviously," Devynn chuckled.  
"Hush," Raven muttered. "Well, I hope you two can work things out.  
"Yeah." Erik breathed. He thought he would never get to see Christine again, and now here she was, with a child no less. Raoul's child.  
Celeste came back up stairs, her face stern, the bundled child in her arms. "Talk to her." She demanded as she handed the baby off to Raven.  
"What?" Erik said.  
"Talk to her." Celeste repeated. "She seems to think that you are going to hurt her and her baby. And I don't want her to leave. She isn't in any condition to go anywhere."  
"Nothing I say will make any difference."  
Celeste hit him over the side of the head. "Man the fuck up and go talk to her."  
Erik rubbed the side of his head and went down stairs begrudgingly. "Fine." He walked slowly down the stairs, keeping his head low. He spotted Christine against a back wall, eating something Celeste had given her.  
"Christine?" He said softly, walking towards her.  
She looked up and recoiled, scoffing farther from him. This was not the Christine he had known a year and a half ago. She was thinner, her cheeks gaunt, and eyes hollow. Her chestnut curls hung limply around her face, and Erik wondered how long she had been living like this.  
"I'm not going to hurt you, Christine. Or your daughter."  
"You're supposed to be dead," she whispered. "You can't be here."  
"But I am. And I'm a different man from the Erik you knew."  
She wiped her eyes, looking up at him. "Please don't hurt her."  
"Who?"  
"My baby." Christine muttered.  
"Christine, I don't love you anymore. I'm done being jealous of Raoul. All I wanted was for you to be happy,"  
She looked him up and down, her expression skeptical.  
"You can trust Celeste. She'll make sure you're okay. I'll stay upstairs if that makes you feel safer." He left her with that, hoping she'd still be able to eat after seeing him.  
He made his way upstairs, nearly knocking Celeste over in the process.  
"Watch it!" She snapped. "Did you talk to her?"  
"Just a little." Erik muttered. "I didn't want to overwhelm her."  
Celeste nodded. "Okay."  
"I think... I think maybe I should leave." Erik murmured. "I don't deserve your help. Anyone's help here. And it's more important that you help Christine than me, and if she's a flight risk because of me, then that means I should go."  
Celeste looked away from him for a minute before looking back up at him. "No. This doesn't mean you have to go. Erik, people feel safer when you're here. And I feel better when I'm gone knowing that you're here with them." She explained.  
Erik was surprised. She'd never talked to him like this before.  
"Thanks, Celeste." Erik muttered. "But I feel as if I've over stayed my welcome."  
Celeste grit her teeth. "Stop feeling sorry for yourself."  
"What?"  
"I told you to stop feeling so damn sorry for your self!" Here was the Celeste he knew reading her ugly head. "Can't you see you're a part of something that's bigger than you?"  
"Why are you so hard on me?" Erik countered. "I've never seen you yell at anyone except me. Why is that?"  
"Because you're a stubborn jackass!" Celeste walked away, red faced.  
Erik stood there for a moment, baffled.  
"Don't mind her." Raven muttered. "She has a problem expressing her feelings. So she just gets mad."  
"Obviously. What is her deal?"  
Raven smiled. "That's for you two to figure out."


	7. Chapter 7

Celeste glanced around at the other card players at her table, all of which were staring intently at their cards. The man next to her was jiggling his leg, but she knew it was an act, to make people think he had a bad hand. He'd been losing all night, but now there was some serious money on the table, and his leg jiggling had intensified. Celeste didn't have any good cards, so she folded this round. She leaned back in her chair, running a hand over her eyes. The man with the nervous leg had the best hand.  
"Mind dealing me in?"  
Celeste looked up and grit her teeth angrily as she saw Erik sit down at the table.  
"What are you doing here?" Celeste muttered.  
"Playing cards."  
Celeste wanted to reach across the table and choke the life out of his stupid face, but couldn't in a crowded tavern.  
The first round went by uneventfully, with one of the other guys playing the winning hand, but the second round, Erik was the one who won the round with a four of a kind. Celeste kicked him under the table. Erik raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly.  
"Idiot," Celeste muttered under her breath. Only a moron won on his first time playing with a new group.  
Celeste played the next few rounds, but with Erik there her game was off, and she figured she should quit while she was ahead. She cashed out and left the tavern without saying anything to Erik. That didn't stop him from following.  
"Do you know how stupid that was?" Celeste snapped, turning on him in the street a few paces away from the tavern. "You don't just join a game and just clean up the winnings! Especially when you know someone else in the game, cause then it looks like we're conspiring together. Jesus,"  
Erik's face remained placid, his arms folded. "Why do you gamble? What if you seriously lose big and we all pay the price of that?"  
"Because I know I can win." Celeste said. "It's not like dice games where everything is left to chance. In card games, there's always a strategy, and I don't play a hand unless I know I can win."  
Erik raised an eyebrow.  
"Look, it's one way I can make money without bringing attention to myself." Celeste said. "And as you can tell, I'm good at it."  
"Celeste, what happened to you? Why are the police after you?"  
Her anger ebed away, replaced with exhaustion. She was done fighting with Erik, tired of resisting him. And she was also tired of dragging around the baggage of what happened to her.  
"Come on," Celeste said, beckoning to him. He followed her to a little park where she would go when she just wanted to be alone. They sat together on a bench, and Erik waited for her to speak. "I used to be married."  
"What?" Erik said, smiling slightly. "You?"  
"Yeah," she muttered, rubbing her neck, "I was 18, my parents married me off because they thought it would make me behave. He was older, he was kind, and I didn't really deserve him. We had a son together, Alec." She gripped the locket that hung around her neck. "For three years I went along with it, trying to be a good house wife, but that just wasn't the life for me. I snuck out at night, wearing my husband's clothes, I went and gambled. Dice games, mostly. I slept with a few men too, and I drank. A lot. This went on for two years, and I got involved with a dice game that I lost. And I lost big time. And the man I lost to was...lets just say he was the real shit. And he wanted money I didn't have. So... He killed Alec and my husband. He knocked me out out and had his men arrange it so it looked like I killed them. Obviously I didn't do it, so I went along with the police. When I realized there was too much evidence against me for me to even think about me winning my case. So, I broke out of jail. I've been on the run ever since. Three years ago I met Raven and Devynn, and I started all this. If I ever get caught, I'll hang for sure."  
Erik seemed to take a second to take that all in. He looked over at her, his face apologetic. "I'm sorry."  
"It's my fault," Celeste muttered. "I was the reason they got killed. And I may not of loved my husband, but I respected him, and he treated me well. And Alec..." She wiped her eyes. "I didn't spend enough time with him. He was with the nanny most of the time. But that's why I don't play dice games anymore. I just stick to cards."  
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Erik reach out a hand as though to comfort her, but he pulled it away at the last second.  
"So tell me," Celeste said. "What happened between you and Christine?"  
"What do you know about the opera ghost incident?" He countered.  
"Just what the papers said. A man in a mask kidnapped a young singer and crashed a chandelier. But then she and her fiancé turned up the next day."  
"Christine was that girl." Erik explained. "I'd been teaching her music and I fell in love with her and things got out of hand."  
"Hence the chandelier." Celeste muttered.  
"Yeah." Erik breathed. "But I didn't really love her. I loved the idea of her, and I hurt people because of it."  
Celeste nodded. "I guess we're both just a couple of terrible people, trying to be okay with what we did."  
"I guess so." Erik agreed.  
"Let's head back." Celeste said, standing.  
"Alright."


	8. Chapter 8

Over the next two months things quieted down between Erik and Celeste, with most of their screaming matches kept mostly to a minimum. This was due to the fact that Celeste did what she could to avoid Erik. As much as she didn't want to admit it, the reason she had been so hard on Erik was because she was falling for him. It was stupid and she knew it, but that didn't stop it from being true. She wasn't even sure if she knew how to properly love someone. She loved Raven, and she loved her people, and she loved playing cards, but those types of love were simple, unbiased, and didn't keep her up at night.  
She would stay awake, staring at the ceiling, listening to the snores of the other people who resided in the basement of purgatory, trying to figure out why she thought she loved Erik. She spent many nights trying to just make herself angry, telling herself that she hated him, but that didn't work. She didn't even know she had the capacity to love a man. But Erik... He challenged her. He defied her. He didn't take her word for law and thought for himself, rather than just following the herd, like some of the men who would pass through here. He really was kind and gentle with her people, and she herself felt safer knowing Erik was on her side. But what would happen if she told him? She doubted that he could love her. His type was petite opera singers, with flowing hair. Celeste was no where close to any of those things. If she told him, he might leave. So, she did her best to avoid him, and when she did have to talk to him, she avoided his eyes. She was afraid he might see the truth there. For two months she dealt with those feelings. And she didn't know how to handle it anymore.

Celeste slunk down the street, her boots clicking on the stone. She wandered past her usual tavern, walking down just a little bit farther. At the end of the street was a bar she used to go to, back when she was still married. Back in her dicing days. Her fingers twitched, and before she knew what she was doing, she was opening the door and looking around. She heard the familiar rattle of dice rolling on a table, and she made a beeline for the group that was playing.  
"How much to join?" She asked, sitting at the table. A man sat across the table from her, holding a glass tightly in his hands. He seemed very interested in her.  
"Fifty," he smirked.  
"Alright, let's play."

One minute, Erik was asleep, and the next, someone was shaking Erik awake.  
"Erik!" It was Raven. "Erik, it's Celeste, I need your help."  
Erik sat up, running a hand over his eyes. "What happened?"  
"She's hurt!"  
Erik scrambled to his feet, doing his best not to step on anyone else who was sleeping.  
"I w-would have woken Devynn but she c-can't stand the sight of blood," Raven muttered, leading him up the stairs, her voice shaking really bad.  
Celeste was laid out on a table with a blanket on it, her chest bleeding profusely.  
"What the fuck happened?!" Erik demanded, grabbing rags and applying pressure to the wound.  
"I d-don't know! She just stumbled in here and passed out." Raven muttered, pulling out a box out of one of the crates. Glass bottles rattled around as she slammed it on the table next to Celeste. She pulled out a brown glass bottle and a wad of gauze.  
Celeste suddenly gasped for air and then went still. Erik pressed his fingers tho her throat for a moment, cursing loudly. He climbed up onto the table, straddling her hips with his legs, pressing on her chest and blowing air into her mouth.  
"What happened?!"  
"Her heart stopped." Erik said through gritted teeth, "Don't you dare die on me, you bitch." He raised his fist and brought it down hard in the center of her chest. Celeste's body jerked as she gasped for air.  
"Jesus." Raven muttered, dabbing the wound with whatever was in that bottle. "She's going to have one hell of a bruise."  
"I think she can forgive me." Erik muttered, climbing down from the table.  
"The bleeding has stopped enough that I can stitch it up." Raven said. "Thanks, Erik."  
"Of course." Erik yawned.

Erik looked up as Celeste stirred. She groaned loudly and tried sitting up.  
"Take it easy," Erik said, standing and going to her side. "We almost lost you there for a second."  
She blinked a few times, running a hand over her forehead. "You should have let me die."

Erik came up behind Celeste as she was examining her wound in a mirror. Thanks to Raven, the long gash on her sternum was healing nicely, and thanks to Erik she still had a large purple and black bruise over her heart.  
Celeste glanced up, seeing him in the reflection. She closed the front of her shirt, down casting her eyes. "What is it with you and bruising my ribs?"  
"Guess I just have a knack for it." Erik shrugged. "Celeste, what happened that night?"  
"I don't want to talk about it. Not with you." Celeste muttered.  
Erik grit his teeth. The past few months she seemed to make every attempt to make it clear that she hated him. She always avoided his gaze, and never talked to him unless it was to say something snide. He was beginning to think that he had overstayed his welcome here at purgatory.  
"I guess if that's what you think, maybe I should just leave."  
She turned, actually looking at him for the first time in months. "What? Leave?" He thought he saw something behind her eyes, but he honestly wondered if she could feel anything other than spite.  
"Yeah." Erik muttered. "I don't feel like I have a place here anymore."  
Erik expected her to explode, to tear his head off about how selfish he was being, and that his head was shoved up his ass, but instead she deflated, looking down at the ground again.  
"You do what you need to do then." She muttered. She pushed past him, leaving Christine and Raydon in her wake.  
"Do you really want to leave?" Raydon asked.  
"I'm thinking about it, Kid." He glanced over at Christine. She looked better now, her face had color and her hair was shiny again. Her eyes were still glassy and empty, but she had improved in the the time she'd been here.  
"Where would you go?" Christine asked. She had Roxanne on her hip, who was chewing on something.  
"Is she supposed to have something in her mouth?" He pointed to Roxanne  
"Hmm?" She looked down at her daughter. "Oh, she's teething, and Raven suggested I give her a carrot, and it seems to be working so far." She shook her head. "Don't change the subject."  
"I don't know where I'm going to go. I just want to be away from here."  
"What happened?" Christine asked. "I thought you were happy here."  
"I was." Erik muttered. "But..." Erik didn't know if he could even tell Christine was really wrong with him staying. In truth, despite the yelling and the bruising, Erik had feelings for Celeste, and he knew that she'd never be able to love him back. He wasn't sure she even had the capacity to feel love. Erik had no idea why he even liked Celeste. In fact, she was the exact polar opposite of Christine. Celeste was stone hard, and about as sharp as the blade she carried. But she had trusted Erik enough to tell him about her family, and trusted him with her people and depended on him to protect them. But he couldn't go through loving someone who didn't love him back.  
Christine waited for an answer, but Erik didn't have one for her. Thankfully, he was saved from trying to come up with a bullshit excuse as Raven and Devynn's raised voices from the other room.  
"You always put her first! It's Celeste this and Celeste that, of course I'll do this for you, Celeste! Jesus it's like you're in love with her!"  
"Oh god, get your head out of your ass! God forbid I'm allowed to be close to anyone but you!"  
Raven stormed out, her face red and her black curls in a fritz.  
"Trouble in paradise?" Christine chuckled.  
Raven huffed and left the bakery.

Celeste swung her legs idly, staring up at the night sky. The tree she was sitting in swayed slightly in the wind, but the branch where she had planted herself was sturdy enough to hold her.  
She looked down as she heard the crunching of branches. Raven was climbing up the tree. She joined Celeste on the branch, making it creak dangerously.  
"How'd you know I was here?" Celeste asked.  
"You always come here." Raven muttered. Celeste looked over at her, noticing that her cheeks and eyes were red.  
"What happened?" Celeste asked.  
"Devynn and I had a fight." Raven muttered.  
"About what?"  
"The same thing we always fight about." She sighed. "I just don't understand why she gets so jealous."  
"I couldn't tell you."  
"Celeste, what happened to you?" Raven asked. "The night you got hurt, I mean."  
Celeste clenched her fists. "I messed up. Big time."  
"Tell me."  
"I played a game of dice. And I lost big time. I had the option to pay the amount or pay with my life."  
"And we saved you." Raven muttered. "But who would want you dead rather that money?"  
Celeste ground her teeth. "The man who fucked me over the first time."  
"What?!" Raven demanded. "You mean the man who...?"  
"Yeah. The one who is responsible for my husband and son's deaths."  
"How did you not recognize the guy who murdered your family?" Raven demanded. "Any play a game of dice with him?"  
"I didn't recognize him," Celeste snapped. "Last time I played a game with him, I was drunk. I don't remember most of that night." Her face turned red with anger. "I fucked up."  
"How much money do you owe?"  
"A lot. 10,000."  
"Jesus."  
"And it gets worse," Celeste explained. "He threatened you guys."  
"What?"  
"Somehow he knew about all that, and this group is the closest thing I have to family. So if I can't pay up, he'll come after you." Celeste muttered.  
"When do you have to pay up?"  
"By next week."  
Raven set her determined face. "We can figure out how to come up with the money, we'll be able to work it out. Don't worry."  
Celeste smiled weakly. "Thanks, Raven, but this is something I need to take care of myself,"  
"You don't mean...?" Raven's eyes glistened.  
"I'm turning myself over to them." Celeste said. "There's no reason to involve any of you, and I got myself into this mess,"  
"You can't just give up!" Raven snapped. "This isn't you."  
"I won't put anyone else in danger because I have a gambling problem!" Celeste countered. "And when I go, I need you to take over. And if you can, please convince Erik to stay. He wants to leave because of me, but I won't be around soon,"  
Raven considered this for a few moments before speaking. "I'll try."


	9. Chapter 9

Raven and Devynn folded laundry in silence, both still a little heated after yesterday's fight. Devynn sighed and shook out a shirt angrily.  
"Raven, have you ever thought about leaving this place?" Devynn asked.  
Raven closed her eyes, letting out a breath. She didn't want to talk about this, especially after what Celeste had just told her. "Not really," she said, her tone implying how done she was.  
"It's just, don't you aspire to have something beyond this stupid bakery?" Devynn said, turning to her and grabbing Raven's hands. "I would be able to get a real job, and we could get a house, just the two of us. I want to have a life with you, a real life. I don't want to live on the streets forever, caring for strangers."  
"Maybe it's not what you want," Raven snapped, "but I enjoy helping people. Maybe it's not a glamorous life, a secure one, but it's important to me."  
Devynn seemed to be clinging to some semblance of calm. "Caring for other people is more important than me? What I want?"  
Raven turned back to the laundry, feeling the steam rising from her ears. "And what you want is more important than I want?" She held up a hand when she saw Devynn about to start yelling. "Look, what we both want is important, but obviously they don't match up. If you don't want what I want, then you should figure out what you want."  
Devynn's eyes started watering. "What I want is you."  
"What you want is for me to be something I'm not. To give up something I love doing." Raven retorted. "And I can't leave. Not now."  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Devynn demanded.  
"Celeste got herself into some trouble and she needs me to take over here if things go south."  
Devynn snarled. "Then she can find someone else to do it then! If she did something that put us in danger, that's more reason for us to leave here!"  
"Who else will do it, Erik's abandoning us, because he's too damn thick to see that Celeste loves him, and someone needs to help these people. And I owe Celeste. She gave us our life back."  
"Erik is right for leaving. Celeste is just some stone cold bitch who doesn't really care about anyone but herself."  
"If that's what you think, then maybe you should just go!"  
Devynn blinked. Raven clapped her hands over her mouth.  
"I-I didn't mean it, Devynn,"  
Devynn threw the shirt she'd been folding down, storming out of the room.

"Erik!" Erik looked up from his book as Devynn stormed across the room towards him. "Is it true you're leaving?"  
"Yeah, I am," Erik said slowly, wondering if Devynn was going to hit him. She certainly looked angry enough to do it.  
"Take me with you when you do. I'm done with this place."  
"What about Raven?"  
"I'm done with her too."  
Erik set his book down. "What happened?"  
"She just loves this stupid bakery more than she loves me. So I'm not going to put up with it." Devynn huffed. She scratched her neck, where that thin scar of hers was visible. Erik had never asked her how she got it, and he wasn't going to. Mostly for fear of being hit. Devynn looked ready to kill something.  
"I'm sure that's not true." Erik said, patting the ground next to him, inviting Devynn to sit down. "I know she loves you a lot."  
"We just want different things I guess."  
"Why do you really want to leave?" Erik asked.  
"I wanted Raven to come with me." Devynn explained. "To have a life together outside of this place. I just feel like she cares more about random strangers from the street more than she cares about me."  
"So you thought that by separating her from this place, that she'd what, pay more attention to you?"  
Devynn opened her mouth to speak but then closed it, considering what Erik had said. She folded her arms and pouted.  
"You can't expect her to give up what she wants, and part of who she is, just because you don't like it."  
"That's why I'm going." Devynn said. "I've outgrown this place and if she can't grow with me, then I guess it's time we went our separate ways."  
Erik shook his head. "I guess if that's how you see it, I won't try and convince you otherwise."  
"When do you plan on leaving?"  
"In a few days."  
"I'll get packed then." Devynn muttered, standing and leaving Erik with his book.  
"Look at you," Christine said. "Giving out relationship advice. Or trying, at least."  
Erik felt his face turn red. "Be quiet."  
She smiled. "Don't want anyone to know the Opera Ghost has a soft side?"  
"I'll lose my edge," Erik muttered.


	10. Chapter 10

In the days leading up to his departure, Celeste didn't say much to him. She just avoided his eyes and retreated whenever he was around. The same went for Raven. Armed with the notion that Devynn was leaving with him, she joined Celeste's pity party. She half heartedly tried to convince Erik to stay, but each attempt was weaker than the last.  
The day came when Erik and Devynn had decided to depart, and the bakery was especially quiet. No one wanted to get involved in the drama.  
Erik packed up the last of his things, and he lifted the pillow Celeste had given him and found something underneath. It was a black leather mask, perfectly sized to hide half of his face. Erik glanced around, turning it over in his hands. He slipped it on over his face, the mask using a thin wire wrapping around his head, which kept it in place. He felt less exposed and vulnerable. He only had to wonder for a moment where it came from.  
"I hope you like it." Celeste murmured behind him. He turned around, and saw her standing there, hands behind her back. Her cheeks were a little pink and she was actually looking at him. "I made it."  
"Thanks," Erik muttered.  
"I figured they big bad world is a whole lot more judgement lap than us." Celeste said.  
"Yeah, it will be." Erik couldn't help but smile a little. "Why black?"  
"I thought while would stand out more." Celeste shrugged.  
"Thank you." Erik straighter up and faced her. "Good luck, Celeste. I hope our paths cross again."  
Her tight lips curved into a small smile. "I highly doubt it."  
"Well I can dream." Erik shrugged.  
"Good bye, Erik." Celeste said, holding out her hand. He shook it firmly, not taking his eyes off her face, which was cold and collected. She wasn't going to miss him.  
"You ready?" Devynn asked, hefting her bag on her shoulder.  
"Yeah." Erik said, turning away from Celeste.  
They headed out just as night was falling. The two walked in silence for a time before Erik cleared his throat.  
"Are you sure you want to do this?"  
"Yes." Devynn muttered.  
"But won't you miss Raven?"  
Devynn glanced up at him. "I gave up everything for her. And she won't even consider what I want."  
"What do you mean?" Erik asked.  
Devynn sighed. "I never did tell you about my scar, did I?" She indicated the thin pink line on her neck. When Erik shook his head, she explained. "When Raven hurt her leg in that accident, I invited her to live with me and my parents. My mom didn't really care, and I told Raven that we needed to be careful. I never wanted my parents to know that I...that I liked her like that." Devynn's face was red. "But she walked in on Raven and I and..." She grimaced. "They tried strangling me and dumping my body in a field. Celeste saw it happen and managed to bring me back, since they had knocked me unconscious, but hadn't choked me long enough to actually kill me." She folded her arms and looked away.  
"I'm sure Raven never intended for any of that to happen," Erik said.  
"She was the one who insisted we-we-" her blush deepened.  
"It takes two to tango." Erik pointed out. "You didn't deserve what your parents did to you, but you shouldn't be placing all this blame on her."  
"Whatever." Devynn huffed. "You're not really one to talk."  
"What?" Erik demanded, just a little bit over her attitude.  
"The only reason you're leaving is because you and Celeste have your heads shoved so far up your asses you can't see anything in front of you."  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
"Nothing." She snapped her jaw shut and refused to talk again after that.

"Stop crying, Raven."  
"I can't," Raven snapped, wiping tears from her eyes. "Devynn left me and now you're leaving too."  
Celeste huffed in frustration. "I fucked up and now I'm paying for my sins, Devynn obviously never loved you very much if she left like this. You're better off without us."  
Raven's bottom lip quivered as tears still continued to pour over her cheeks.  
Celeste sighed and touched the pink scar on her chest with a gentle touch. All that work to save her, and now Raven was going to have to watch her walk to her death at dusk in just a few days. Celeste ran a stone along the edge of her blade, trying not to look at Raven's sad eyes.  
"Why didn't you ever tell him?" Raven muttered.  
"Tell who what?"  
Raven raised her eyebrows.  
"Shut up. There was nothing to tell Erik." That was a lie, but there was no point in telling him, even on the off chance he had feelings for her. "Just drop it. My will to live shouldn't revolve around some man. I'm doing this because I want to. Because this is my mess to clean up." She nodded and went back to her sword.  
"What am I supposed to do without you?"  
"Keep moving."


	11. Chapter 11

Rain dripped from Celeste's hair as she stood in a cluster of trees, tapping her heel impatiently. She wore a heavy black cloak, which hid her sword from view. She may have came here to die, but she wasn't going down without a fight.  
"You actually did show up." A man stepped through the trees, one Celeste recognized. Moubray. The man responsible for the wager that brought her here. "How do you plan to repay your debt?"  
"With my life." Celeste said, holding her chin up, gripping the hilt of her sword.  
His mouth curved into a small smile. "No, you see, that's not the answer I wanted."  
He moved as fast as lighting, grabbing her shoulders and shoving his knee into her stomach. She fell forward onto her knees and two men grabbed her under the arms and held her there. Another man came and took her sword from its sheath, handing it to Moubray. He balanced the blade on his palm, still smiling.  
Celeste felt the stitches in her chest pulling, and she could taste the blood now filling her mouth. She spat at his feet, trying to catch her breath.  
"What the hell?!" Celeste demanded, once she had regained her bearings. "You said I could pay with my life."  
"I did," Moubray nodded. "But you misunderstood. It seems like that group of disgusting hobos is your life." He stabbed the blade into the ground by his feet, leaving it sticking straight up in the air.  
Her eyes bulged in her head, and she has to fight screaming at him, spitting and cursing. She was not going to let him do this to her again.  
"But I'm not going to do anything to them. But I know a few officers of the law who would very much like to know where a one Celeste Hadage is, and the phantom of the opera himself." He seemed to relish that last detail. "And aiding and abetting known criminals is punishable by law. Not only that, but criminal trespass, tax evasion, and I'm sure our wonderful law enforcement will find more reasons to make sure your people never see the light of day again."  
Celeste should have known. It would never have been this easy to forget a debt by just her dying.  
"And what will happen to me?" She muttered, trying not to let him see that he got to her. If he thought the people in that Bakery meant nothing to her, maybe he'd back off. It was a weak attempt, but she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of begging and pleading.  
"Oh, if the police get ahold of you, you'll hang." He tapped his chin. "But who knows. Maybe I'll just keep you for myself."  
"Why are you doing this?" Celeste muttered.  
"Because you are dumb enough to keep playing my game." He said. "Like you, I gamble for the coin I need, but I have friends in powerful places when I have opponents who don't pay up. And if I tear you down so absolutely, it will send a message to everyone that that interferes with the syndicate."  
Status. He was playing with her for the purpose of status, clean and simple.  
"Take her away," he muttered, waving a hand.  
Celeste straightened up suddenly, sending the top of her skull into the jaw of the man holding her left arm. He staggered away, dazed, and she brought her arm around hit his nose with an open palm, crushing his nose on impact. His eyes rolled back in his head and she was able to stand fully. She lunged for her blade, yanking it out of the ground, holding it at the ready in the face of any oncoming attacks. Moubray stepped back, looking alarmed. He snapped his fingers and stepped back, and more of his men came at her. She pulled two daggers that were hidden in the inseam of her trousers, and threw them, one after the other, into the chests of two men now advancing on her. She lashed out with her sword, easily cutting down a third.  
She heard a twig snap behind her and she spun on her heel and snapped the pistol out of a man's hands before he had the opportunity to fire. She brought her arm around, bringing the grip of the pistol into his jaw and shattering it on impact. She threw it aside, holding up her sword to any other attacker. She heard the clash of metal on metal and saw two men fighting at the edge of the trees. She couldn't believe what she saw. Erik had joined the fray, using his sword expertly to cut down opponents as she was. She could only wonder for a moment what he was doing here before she had to defend herself from an attack. Three more henchmen fell and she heard someone behind her. She turned, bringing up her sword to meet opponent's blade.  
The two swords met with a clash, and Celeste found she was face to face with Erik. They laughed nervously for a moment.  
"Why did you come back?" She asked.  
"I wasn't about to let you kill yourself." He muttered, holding her gaze with his blue eyes. Before she knew what she was doing, she dropped her sword, Erik following suit, and she grabbed his face and kissed him. He stood rigid at first, completely alarmed by the gesture, but after a moment, he leaned into her, wrapping his arms around her waist. The tension that had been hanging between them for months snapped, and Celeste had never been so happy to see this asshole again.  
"Isn't this touching."  
They turned and saw Moubray stooping to pick up Celeste's fallen blade. He turned his attention to them. "Don't think that because you killed my men that you're coming out of this unscathed." Swished the sword back and forth. "I'll pick off your little group, one at a time." He punctuated each word with a swish of the blade. "And I'll start with him."  
He lunged for Erik, and Celeste did the only thing she could thing of: She threw herself in front of him.


	12. Chapter 12

Moubray grinned as Celeste fell to the ground, holding her stomach in her hands. Erik only had a few seconds to react before Moubray killed him. Erik lifted his arm, bringing the hilt of his sword down on the other Man's head before he could do anything. Moubray crumpled, and Erik knelt down beside Celeste, wondering what he could do.  
"Celeste?" He asked.  
Her hands were clamped down on her stomach, the deep red stain spreading rapidly.  
"How bad is it,"  
"I'm fine," she muttered, "this little scratch won't slow me down." As she spoke, blood sprayed from her mouth. He started taking her in the direction of the bakery.  
"Come on. We'll get you to Raven, you'll be okay." Erik murmured, lifting her up into his arms carefully.  
"I will not be carried like a child," she said, kicking her legs slightly in protest, but she let him carry her all the same. "Why did you really come back?" Her face had drained of all color.  
"Devynn told me what you had told Raven. That you had feelings for me. And that you had got yourself in trouble, I talked to Raven a little bit ago and she told me where you had gone."  
"You people should let me fight my own battles." She coughed, spraying Erik's shirt with a thin layer of blood. "I was the one who made a wager she couldn't keep."  
"Is that the only reason why you toke that blade for me?" Erik asked quietly. "Or is it because you're just suicidal?"  
Celeste turned her face away from him. "I couldn't let you pay for my mistakes. God I hate you."  
"Why?"  
"Because you made me feel like this." She muttered, her eyes drifting closed.  
"Hey," Erik said, bouncing her a little, trying to keep her awake, "stay with me. Don't give up on me."  
"I gave up a long time ago. God just won't let me go. He's making me stay in this shithole as punishment." Her breath began to rattle as her head drooped down.  
"Don't you dare die, you bitch." Erik said, adjusting his hold on her so her head rested higher on his chest.  
"What's the point?" Her voice had grown fainter. "Of keeping me alive?"  
"You are going to live dammit. If I have to pull you kicking and screaming out of your grave."  
She chuckled. "There's a reason I fell in love with you. But Erik, there's something you have to know-"  
She didn't have time to finish. She lost consciousness and Erik passed her off to Raven, who had been reunited with Devynn only an hour or so earlier.  
Luckily, when Moubray had swung the sword with the intention of killing Erik, he had pulled back slightly when he realized it was Celeste he was cutting into. So there wasn't as much damage as the gash in her chest, but it still took Raven over an hour to control the bleeding, sew stitches, and clean and dress the wound. Erik never left Celeste's side.  
"Will she be okay?"  
"Should be." Raven muttered. "So long as she stays off her feet. Recovery time shouldn't be that bad as long as she doesn't over exert herself."  
"Thank you." Erik muttered.  
Raven smiled. "Thanks for bringing her, and Devynn, back to me."  
Celeste muttered something in her sleep, turning her head to face the other way. Erik brushed a hand over her head. She drove him crazy, but he couldn't help but love her.

Erik awoke the next morning with a start, glancing around and wondering what had disturbed him. Raven stood over him, holding a piece of folded paper in her hands.  
"She's gone." She muttered, handing over the sheet of paper.  
"What?" Erik demanded, sitting up and snatching up the paper.  
It read:  
Erik, Raven,  
_Please do not follow me. This is something I have to do. But please, move the group to one of the back up locations Raven and I have discussed, since the man who came after me will come after all of you. You will not be safe until I'm gone and you've moved.  
I'm sorry.  
-C_


	13. Chapter 13

"The following has been accused and convicted of the following crimes: the murders of Alec and Jean Hadage, the individual known only as the Phantom of the Opera, as well as aiding and abetting known criminals. She has pleaded guilty of all crimes, and as such will be hung by the neck until she is dead."  
Celeste stood on the trapdoor of the gallows, her arms and legs bound with thick rope. She stood in front of a crowd of people who were waiting for her execution. This was the only way. The moment she turned herself into the police, she took all the power away from Moubray, and once Raven moved her people out of the city, they would be safe. She even went to the opera house and found one of Erik's white masks and provided that as evidence that he was dead and that she had killed him. At least that way any active investigation on him would be closed.  
This was what she had to do.  
She was not afraid of death, in fact, she welcomed it.  
And as the rope was slipped around her neck...  
She smiled.

_End of part one_


	14. Chapter 14 (Part 2)

Mist hung in the early morning air on the streets of Paris. Erik sat atop the roof of the bakery, finding comfort in the dim morning light. He stared up at the dark blue sky, letting his mind stay blank, trying not to think about anything that had happened the past few weeks.  
"What are you doing up here?" Erik turned his head and saw Raven climbing up onto the roof.  
"Waiting, I guess." Erik murmured.  
"Erik," Raven said gently, "she's not coming back."  
Erik was done being angry with her, tired of having this conversation. Instead of snapping at her, he sighed. "That's what you believe."  
Raven shook her head. "Look, Erik, this has been a long time coming. I've always known that Celeste was going to disappear and... Have you ever owned a dog?"  
"Yes," Erik said slowly, thinking back to his childhood dog, Sasha, wondering what point Raven was trying to make.  
"It's like when a dog gets old, and they know it's their time and they go off to a quiet place-"  
"Celeste is not old," Erik snapped. "And she's not a dog! She was young, and she had..." Erik wanted to insist that she had reasons to live, but he had wanted her to live for him. It was selfish, he knew that, but couldn't help and feel betrayed.  
"I know you loved her." Raven put a hand on his shoulder. "And I'm sure in her own way she loved you too, but whatever she did, she had her reasons."  
Erik didn't want to hear it, but on some level he knew that Raven was right.  
"Erik, we need to move the group." Raven muttered. "We have to. It's not safe for us here anymore."  
"Where do we go?"  
"There's this abandoned house just past Lyon. It has always been our backup plan."  
"Why haven't you guys moved there til now?"  
"Change is scary for a lot of the group, and it was safe here in Paris. So we never felt the need to leave until now."  
"Okay. We'll leave on the morrow."  
He just wanted one more day. One more day of ignorance. One more day to hope that Celeste would come back to him.


	15. Chapter 15

Jason Gray pushed his glasses farther up on his nose, looking up at his professor and then back down at his notes. His hands were blotched with ink due to the speed that he was writing at to keep up.  
"This afternoon you will be performing autopsies on actual cadavers. Unsupervised, but the bodies will be examined afterwards and you will be judged on your performance. You have two days to determine cause of death."  
"Who are the cadavers we'll be working with?"  
"It doesn't matter who they were in life. What matters is how they died."  
All the students stood and got their examination rooms with their subsequent cadavers. Jason walked down the walkway past the morgue to his examination room.  
On the metal table was a tall, thin woman, with short brown hair. The large thick bruise on her neck indicated strangulation. He was almost disappointed, hoping for more of a challenge for his assignment.  
Jason pulled back the sheet, and he was surprised at what he saw. Her body was covered in scars. Dozens of tiny white ones and two large ones, both pink and fresh. Jason whistled through his teeth replacing the blanket. He supposed that he should get proof of asphyxiation by examining lung tissue, so he picked up his scalpel, putting his palm flat in the middle of her chest, preparing to cut her neck open. As he applied pressure, he thought he heard something. He put his ear close to her mouth, listening intently, pushing down on her sternum. He heard her wheeze. He took his hands away, hypothesizing that maybe she had some air left in her lungs. She wheezed again.  
Jason did a basic examination of the body, his pulse racing and his hands shaking, wondering if this woman could possibly still be alive. She was cold to the touch and there was no evidence that her heart was beating. Or at least, he couldn't hear it. He pulled out his scalpel, making a little mark on her arm. Small beads of blood flowed down her arm. He stepped back, suddenly excited, wondering if he had the opportunity to reanimate a corpse.  
He broke into one of the cabinets in the room, knowing that was where her file was.  
"Celeste," he murmured, reading over her file. She was executed for murder four days ago. Four days? Corpses could sometimes bleed, but that was within hours of death. This woman had been pronounced dead four days ago, if she was truly head, she shouldn't be bleeding. Or breathing, for that matter. He continued to read her file, fascinated. She was hanged by the neck for the deaths of her son, her husband, the infamous phantom of the opera himself, and aiding and abetting criminals. He whistled through his teeth, wondering if it was even worth it to bring her back. He could tear into her chest right now and no one would know. More than his grade was at stake here.  
He stood there for a long time, watching Celeste. Finally, he decided that he was going to try and bring her back.


	16. Chapter 16

Celeste felt like her entire body was made of lead, like she was buried ten feet under. Was this what it felt like to be dead? Celeste expected less sense of consciousness. She suddenly felt very warm, and stiff. A groan escaped her lips. She was dead. She wasn't even supposed to have lips or limbs.  
"She lives."  
Her eyes snapped open, and the world swam in front of her eyes, her vision fuzzy and indiscernible.  
"Try not to move, Celeste. I'm still examining you., making sure you have no other damage."  
Her vision cleared, and a man's face came into focus. He had neat blonde hair and cool hazel eyes. He wore a lab coat, which indicated he was a doctor of some kind. She was in a bedroom, one she didn't recognize.  
"Why am I still alive?" Her voice was hoarse and scratchy, and she felt like she desperately needed a drink of water.  
"Usually when you're hung," the man explained, "the vertebra in your neck break and sever the connection with the brain and the spinal cord. Or you die of asphyxiation. But the vertebra remain unbroken, and you must not have hung long enough to suffocate."  
"Great."  
Only Celeste could fail at dying. She couldn't believe it.  
"Who are you? Where am I?" She asked, sitting up slowly and running a hand over her neck where she could feel the raised skin where the rope had cut into her skin.  
"My name is Jason Gray. I'm studying medicine with the intent to be a doctor." He explained. "I was assigned a cadaver to perform an autopsy on, which was you. I discovered you were still alive, and I did my best to bring you back, and obviously I succeeded. And I know a lot about you. I read your file."  
"If you read my file then you don't know shit about me," Celeste retorted. She couldn't stop staring at the man's face, since there was something about it that was familiar.  
"Oh yeah?" He leaned against a dresser, folding his arms across his chest. "So you didn't kill all those people?"  
"No, I didn't." Celeste cleared her throat, the raspiness left in the wake of her hanging driving her bat shit.  
"Then why did you confess?"  
"I was blackmailed." She said simply. "I had to take the fall for those deaths or they would kill people I cared about."  
"Who?"  
"Bad people." Celeste said simply, not in the mood to explain her ordeal with Moubray.  
"So who killed these people then?" Jason didn't seem to be buying it.  
Celeste ground her teeth. "The people who were blackmailing me."  
"You must care about these people a lot if you were willing to die for them."  
She thought of Raven, Devynn, and Raydon, her heart hurting. Erik's face swam in her mind's eye and she shoved it down, since complicated feelings always accompanied thoughts of him.  
"They didn't deserve to get hurt for my mistakes. I got in with the wrong crowd a handful of years ago and they didn't need to suffer for that. It's that simple."  
He nodded again. "So how does the phantom of the opera fit into this? I mean your husband and son, they're connected to you, but he just seems random."  
Celeste's heart sunk. She had no good explanation.  
When she hesitated, the corner of his mouth lifting. "Is he someone you were trying to protect?"  
"Why does it matter? Why do you want to know?" Celeste snapped. Her brain was still foggy from being partially dead for so long, and she couldn't come up with anything to say.  
"It matters because it's up to me to determine if I go to the police about you and if you get re-executed."  
Celeste's blood ran cold. She didn't particularly enjoy being hung the first time. She remembered the rope tightening around her neck, and how she had a few seconds of consciousness before things went dark, how she kicked and struggled for a breath in those moments. She touched her neck again self consciously. His small smile returned.  
"For now I just want to observe you. See how you are able to function after being dead. I might be able to write a paper and publish it."  
"Well I'm glad I can be of some use to you." Celeste muttered, folding her arms.  
"Hey, I brought you back to life. I could have just cut your chest open and that would have been the end of it."  
Celeste opened her mouth to retort, but snapped it shut. He was telling her to be grateful he saved her life right after he was threatening to end it by turning her in to the police? She glanced around the room to see if there was anything she could use to attack him with. What would she do if she got away? He might go to the police and what then? She didn't know what to do. She didn't want to be experimented on like she was some medical miracle, and she didn't want to be executed. If she could get back to her people, back to Raven and to Erik, that would be the best option, but right now that was out of the question.  
"I don't suppose you're going to let me go?"  
"No. I don't think so."  
"Where am I?"  
"At my house, in one of the guest rooms." He said.  
"Nice place." She said dryly.  
"I'm sorry. But I can't just let a known murderer run free."  
Celeste ground her teeth. She could see no way out of this without hurting the people she had tried to protect by dying.


	17. Chapter 17

Celeste opened her eyes slowly, not really sure why she was awake. She stared into the darkness, listening intently. She heard something, and she stood slowly and pushed her ear against the door. She could hear two people talking just beyond the door.  
"-for a reason. Everyone would be better off if she was still dead. People are in danger because she's still alive." This voice was unknown to her, and all she could tell was it was a woman's voice.  
"What do I do then?"  
"Turn her back in, I suppose. It's what's best for everyone. The group of people she was with they-"  
Celeste desperately wanted to know who was speaking, and how they knew anything about her. Her mind was racing, and she was looking around, trying to find anything that would get her out of here. If this person knew about Raven and the others, they knew more than she wanted anyone else to know. And besides, when she turned herself in, it had been on her terms, not the whim of some boy he thought he knew anything of justice.  
There was a small window at the back of the room, which was locked and probably too small for her to fit through, but she knew she had no choice but to try. Grabbing a heavy book off one of the shelves, she brought it down four or five times on the lock til it broke. She threw the window open and hurled herself through, trying desperately to get her hips through. She cursed her womanly figure as she pushed and pulled, doing what she should have done days ago. The wound across her stomach began to tear, and she could feel a light trickle of blood soaking into the thin fabric of the robe she was wearing. Finally, she wiggles her way free, and she stood, barefoot and almost naked in the street. The air was cold and there was a thin layer of frost on the ground. She closed the window behind her, and turned back to the street, heading for the bakery.  
When Celeste rounded the final corner that lead her to the bakery, the sun had began to peek over the building, the warmth cutting through the cold morning air. She opened the door slowly, looking around. The place was deserted. Raven, Erik, and the others had gotten out safely. She let out a breath and looked around. There was one crate left in the corner, with a piece of paper on top. She went over to investigate, reading the note.  
_Just in case you come back_  
She shook her head. She knew this had to be Erik's doing. She pried the lid off the crate and found a few changes of clothes and a bag of food.  
"Erik, you dumb ass, it could have spoiled." She muttered, secretly hoping the cold weather had prevented the food from doing just that. She checked, and the only thing that needed to be tossed was a loaf of bread. She pulled on her trousers, feeling something in the pockets. It was another note. It was a crude drawing of a lion, probably done by Raven.  
"Lyon." Celeste muttered, folding up the paper. There was an abandoned house there, and was the place Celeste had planned on taking the group of things got hairy. Living in the city was easier than living in the country, which is why they had all stayed in Paris for so long, but they obviously had no choice now.  
She pulled off the robe she had been wearing and winced as the blood that had dried from the wound in her stomach and dried and caused the fabric to stick. She peeled it away and examined the cut. The skin around it was red and inflamed, and the gash was so crooked and ugly. She hissed in pain as she used the bandages she would usually use to bind her breasts to cover the wound. She pulled on her top, glad to be fully dressed for the first time in a while. She dug around in the box, unable to find her sword, but Erik had left behind a few daggers for her. Erik was an idiot for holding out hope for her, but she was grateful he did, and glad that Raven hadn't given up on her either.  
She wondered how long they had waited around after she disappeared before they left, and given the condition of the food that had been left behind, she was probably only a few days behind them. Her heart was heavy at the thought of them waiting around for weeks, wondering where she was. Since she had to wait in jail for over a month before her trial, and the time she had spent "dead" and then locked up with Jason. As she prepared to leave the bakery, she wondered if it were safe for her to follow her people to Lyon. On one hand, she had been publicly executed, so they were safe from Moubray, but on the other Jason had probably gone to the police. Half of her wished she had just killed Jason, but for as many lives as she has taken, they were all in defense of her life, in the heat of battle, and never in cold blood. Jason was just the sorry sucker who had ended up with a live person instead of a cadaver, if he did want to exploit her. And now whoever that woman was posed a threat to the safety of her people, and she had an obligation to make sure she got to them first, on the chance they need to relocate again.  
She chewed on her options in her head before deciding to make the trek to Lyon. She pulled on her boots and a cloak and headed out into the cold morning air.

Erik lie awake, staring at the roof of the barn they had taken refuge in for the night. In exchange for a handful of francs, the old man had been happy to turn a blind eye to their group spending the night here. He shifted, the hay poking through his cloak, which he had laid on the ground beneath him.  
"Erik?" Murmured a small voice next to him.  
"Hm?"  
Raven rolled over so she was facing him, and Erik didn't need to see the tears to know she had been crying.  
"Why didn't Devynn come back with you? Do you know where she went?"  
Erik had been wondering when Raven was going to ask questions about Devynn. He was surprised she's stayed quiet for this long.  
"She was serious about leaving, I suppose." When he had made the decision to go back for Celeste and tell her how he really felt about her, Devynn said she needed time to think, and would stay in Paris for a few weeks and think some things over. Well, those weeks had come and gone, and Erik guessed she had moved on.  
"I just never thought, she'd leave me," Raven's voice cracked, her body shaking with sobs. Erik pulled the girl close, holding her as she cried herself out. She gripped him gratefully, using his chest to muffle her cries, so as not to disturb the others in the barn.  
"Shh, it's okay." Erik murmured. "I know...I know you love her, but she obviously wasn't right for you if she left you."  
"I just want to know if she's safe. At least when she was with you I knew she was in capable hands, but since she's gone off on her own..." she sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Sorry."  
"Don't be." Erik murmured. "You just lost two people you love. You deserve some tears."  
"I don't get it."  
"Get what?"  
"Why you love her." Raven said. "I mean, she's cold and distant. She cares about this group, but she keeps emotion at arm's length. You seem so much warmer, and gentler."  
Erik didn't know why he loved Celeste if he was being honest. She didn't even fit his archetype. She wasn't beautiful, effeminate, or graceful, nor was she even a singer. She was polar opposites with Christine. Erik could see the walls she had built to protect herself, but for some reason he had wanted to conquer those barriers. Erik was weak, he knew that. He had fallen in love with Christine despite knowing nothing about her and let that blind him to everything else. It was like he'd been living in a dream. But there had been a moment, when he had had a rope around poor Raoul's neck that he had woken up and the world cleared. He didn't love Christine, he had loved the idea of her. With Celeste it was different. She drove him crazy, and they constantly were beating each other up, but something about her made Erik want to be close to her, to chip away at her hard exterior and know her heart.  
"I don't know why I do either," he admitted.  
But it didn't matter now, since she was gone anyway.  
All he could do was move on and continue to find some purpose.


	18. Chapter 18

Celeste pulled her cloak tighter against the cold, snow blowing in her face. She had made it out of Paris, no problem, and was near Troyes, but the snow was slowing her down severely. She stopped under a tree, standing so it's trunk blocked the wind. She waited there for a while, shivering and thinking to herself. Her food had run out a day ago, and she had no coin for a bed. She was glad Erik and Raven didn't leave any money behind for her, considering it would have been a waste had her execution been successful, but she was totally stranded. She headed for Troyes, wondering if maybe she could figure out a way to get some money.

She stepped into the warm tavern, lowering her the hood of her cloak and looking around. There were a couple of tables that had card games, and one that was playing dice. She pulled herself away from the dice game and sat down at one of the car games, pulling up a chair and sitting in it backwards. Folding her arms on the back of the ladder-back, she looked around at the dumbfounded faces of the men that sat there.  
"What do you think you're doing, girlie?" One man asked, setting down his cards and raising an eyebrow.  
"I plan on joining the game." She said smoothly.  
"5 francs to buy your way in." One man muttered.  
"Any chance you'd let me win it? I haven't any money."  
The four men laughed uproariously.  
"Unless you want to pay with your body, you're no good to us."  
"I'll take you up on that." Celeste said smoothly, causing one man to choke on his beer. "Whoever wins the round gets all this, unless of course I win, then I take all your money." She had picked the stupidest looking table when she sat down, and she watched as they all contemplated this notion. She new that the pile of money on the table would be hers in a matter of minutes.  
"Fine," one man said, rubbing his big, sweaty hands together. "Lets see what you got, girlie."  
Five rounds and a pint of beer later, Celeste walked away from the table richer than she had arrived. She paid for a room, knowing she'd deserved at least one night in a real bed before going back out to face the cold, bitter snow.  
She settled back into the blankets, sighing gratefully. She couldn't remember the last time she'd slept in a real bed. The mattress was lumpy and itched a little, but it was better than the hard ground. She dozed off to sleep fairly quickly, but was woken up when the door creaked open.  
She blinked, staring into the darkness, wondering sleepily what had woken her up. She was about to sit up when she felt pressure on her chest and legs as someone climbed on top of her. A dirty hand was clamped over her mouth.  
"I came to get my money back. I know you cheated, bitch, this is why we don't let little girls play."  
It was one of the dumbasses who she had played with earlier. She opened her mouth and bit down on the guy's finger until she tasted blood and he yowled like a dying cat. She brought up her knee between his legs, pushing him off the bed and jumping on top of him, a dagger in hand. She held it to the man's fatty throat, applying a little pressure, just enough to make him whimper.  
"Who are you calling a little girl?" She hissed. "Just because you don't know how to take a loss like a normal goddamn human being don't mean you can take it out on me. Do you make a habit of picking on people you think you can overpower?"  
The man whimpered, begging for forgiveness. Celeste climbed off him, letting him stand.  
"Get out of my room," Celeste snapped. The man scurried out and she made sure that her room was securely bolted. Breathing heavily, she returned to her bed, wondering when she would ever catch a break.  
The next morning Celeste woke surprisingly well rested, despite the previous night's events and she figured it was best for her to get back on the road. A very cold and bitter one, but a road back to her people, nonetheless.  
She headed down the stairs and paused when she saw police officers standing at the bar, talking to the owner of the place.  
"-tall woman, short brown hair, most likely dressed in men's clothing."  
"Yeah, she booked a room last night. I'll take you up."  
Celeste was already bolting back up the stairs, headed for her room. Once again she was forced to climb out a window to her freedom. She dropped into the snow, landing hard on her feet. She took off running in the opposite direction of the tavern, doing her best to put as much distance between herself and those cops. Snow sprayed up from under her boots, and her shortened breaths rose like mist into the air. She waited until she was at least a mile outside of Troyes before she stopped, panting, under a tree.  
"Shit." She muttered. She wonder how much information the police were given. Jason didn't know that she wore men's clothing. Why was he sending police after her? What was his endgame?  
She stared up into the sky, which was crystal blue, and reminded her of Erik's eyes.  
She missed him more than she was willing to admit.


	19. Chapter 19

Snow fell as Celeste stumbled through the streets of Dijon, her body weak and worn out from travel. She kept her hood up and face low, so as not to draw any attention to herself. To outsiders, she looked like just another homeless woman.  
She looked up and her heart stopped. Ahead of her in the road was a short woman with shoulder length black curly hair.  
"Raven!" Celeste called, feeling something in her chest besides the numbness she'd felt for weeks.  
Raven's head whipped around so fast Celeste heard her neck crack. "Celeste?!"  
They ran into each other's arms, embracing each other tightly.  
"I thought you were dead," Raven said into Celeste's shoulder.  
"Technically I was." Celeste muttered. "Jesus it's so good to see you."  
Raven realized she had to hold Celeste up, looking very concerned. "Jesus, you look terrible. Come on, I have a room nearby."  
"Where are the others?" She stopped herself from asking about Erik directly.  
"Lyon." Raven murmured. "I stayed behind to...to look for Devynn." Her face turned bright red. "I want to make her see reason, I want to convince her to come back."  
Celeste put off her lecture until they were somewhere warm.  
Once they were back in a tavern, Raven attended to Celeste's wound, which looked worse and worse everyday.  
"I can't believe you're still alive," Raven murmured. "I just..."  
"I know. I turned myself in to the police, pleading guilty on the charges against me, about my family, and I added that I killed Erik for good measure, so police would stop looking for him."  
"Good plan. Where did it go wrong?"  
"Well I was put on trial and sentenced to death, only my execution failed. I was just unconscious, not actually dead. A med student who I was given to to study realized I was still alive and brought me back. Now he's come after me with more police, and I think he's after Erik and the others, though for what reason I don't know." Celeste ran a hand through her hair, which had grown much too long. It hung almost to her jawline. She hadn't cut it in months.  
"So what was your plan?"  
"To find you guys and want you, I guess. In case the police found you and we could move again. I don't know. For all I know I could be leading them right to you."  
Raven finished up bandaging Celeste's wound and looked up at her.  
"Celeste we've evaded police for years, and since the guy who offed your family isn't after us, I think we'll be okay. I'm just happy you're alive."  
"Things would be easier if I wasn't."  
"As far as Moubray knows, you're dead."  
"Yes, but with this Jason guy hounding the police after me, it may be only a matter of time until word gets back to Moubray." She sighed, putting her face in her hands. "I should just turn myself in again."  
"No!" Raven snapped. "That won't do anyone any good,"  
"Well what do you expect me to do?" Celeste retorted. "I'm just leading them straight to you!"  
And why was that? How did the police know where she was going? The pieces were coming together in her head. The only way the police knew where she was headed was if someone who knew where her people were and where they located. If someone knew the backup plan. She remembered when Jason was talking to someone just beyond the door. Jason Gray. Devynn Gray.  
"I have to go back to Paris." Celeste murmured.  
"No! Why?" Raven asked. "Please, just come with me, we can figure this out..."  
"I'm not turning myself in," she bit her lip, unsure if she should tell Raven the truth. But maybe Raven would be the only one to get through to Devynn.  
"Does the name Jason Gray mean anything to you?"  
When Raven shook her head, Celeste added: "What about in context of Devynn?"  
"I think she had a brother named Jason..." her eyes grew wide. "You're not saying...?"  
"I think she's helping the police."  
"Why would she do that?"  
"Maybe to win favor with her brother, I have no idea." Celeste shook her head. "Maybe to satisfy his sick sense of justice, but in need to convince her to stop, that she's putting everyone in danger."  
"I'm coming with you then." Tears glistened in her eyes. "I want her back."


	20. Chapter 20

Celeste crept in the shadows around the house, making sure there was no police protection around Jason's home. It seemed Jason thought that Celeste wouldn't be back and hadn't bothered with any sort of guard. She grabbed an empty crate and stood on tip toe, peering carefully into windows. She found Jason's room quickly, and she saw him pacing around his room, occasionally picking up what looked like a medical textbook and trying to read, but ultimately returned to pacing. She continued searching, trying to find Devynn. Finally, when she poked her head up over the side of the window and saw a sleeping Devynn lying in bed.  
Gingerly, Celeste pushed the window open, grateful it was unlocked. She glanced around before hoisting herself up onto the windowsill.  
She tiptoed across the floor to Devynn's beside, placing a hand over her mouth. Devynn jerked awake, and Celeste's hand muffled her sounds of surprise.  
"The fuck are you doing here?" Devynn demanded, sitting up in bed and switching on the light. She stood from her bed, backing away from Celeste. "The police will find you, I know they will." Devynn was hiding something behind her back. She was thinner then when Celeste had last seen her, with dark bags hanging under her eyes. She could tell Devynn was in a bad way, with how drawn and pale her skin was and how her eyes kept darting around.  
"Devynn," Celeste wasn't sure what she could say to make Devynn calm down. "By sending the police after me, you are putting everyone else in danger. All the people who cared about you, who took care of you,"  
Devynn shook her head. "You were put to death for a reason, you need to be put away."  
Celeste had no idea where this behavior was coming from. "Devynn why are you back with Jason? I thought your family tried to kill you!" When Celeste had found Raven and Devynn, her family had tried strangling Devynn to death with a thin cord, which left that pink scar around Devynn's neck and her voice was left hoarse and scratchy.  
Devynn's chest started heaving, and her eyes continued to dart.  
"What happened to you?"  
"You happened to me!" Tears were now streaming down her face. She pulled a small pistol out from behind her back, which she pointed at Celeste's chest. Celeste staggered back, surprised.  
"Please, you can kill me, just call off the police, so everyone else isn't in any danger. And you need to get away from Jason, he's dangerous."  
"You're the one who's dangerous! You are responsible for the deaths of several people!"  
"Devynn, you know I was framed, I didn't kill my husband or my son! I only took responsibility so Moubray would get off my ass!"  
Devynn didn't seem to be listening anymore.  
"Raven told me that your brother was one of the people who attacked you when your family found out you were with a girl! You can come back with us. Raven wants you back, she forgives you for what happens."  
Raven's name seemed to get through to Devynn. "Raven..." she whimpered, the hand holding the gun shaking.  
"She's here with me, I can take you to her." Celeste said earnestly.  
Devynn's tears had turned to sobs. "I hurt her... I've hurt so many people. I can't trust you, I can't trust him," she tucked the muzzle of the gun under her chin, her finger quivering on the trigger.  
"Don't do this," Celeste pleaded, watching in horror. How long had Devynn felt like this? She had thought it strange that Devynn slept with a gun under her pillow, now she wondered if she had just found her answer. "You haven't hurt anyone, I promise. Please,"  
But Devynn had already made up her mind.  
"Tell Raven I'm sorry."


	21. Chapter 21

Celeste's ears were still ringing from the sound of the gun shot as she made her way through the knee high snow, trying desperately to see through the darkness. Tears mingled with the blood on her face, and she tried to wipe it from her cheeks. She knew she couldn't slow down, knowing that if she did, they'd catch up to her. The combination of the cold and the pain in her abdomen depleted her strength, and she looked around for escape. A tall tree stood in front of her, and she scrambled up the branches, before finding one that would support her weight. She stood there, waiting with baited breath. She pressed a hand to her stomach, finding the wound there had opened up again. Blood trickled through her fingers, and the pain was nearly unbearable.  
Back at Jason's home, when Devynn had dropped to the ground, bleeding from the gaping hole in her head, the sound had drawn Raven, who'd been waiting in a bush nearby, and Jason, who ran for the police. Celeste ordered Raven to go in a different direction so the police would have no reason to come for Raven.  
Below her, Celeste heard the police talking about how they had lost her trail and had to back track. Once the crunching of the snow faded into the distance, she let out a breath. She adjusted her weight and her foot slipped on the branch, and she tumbled into the snow. She laid there for she didn't know how long. She had the sudden desire to just freeze to death, and slip off to sleep and never wake up. She heard something crunching in the snow and she lifted her head. She jerked up and backed away when she saw a white wolf standing in the snow. She tried to stand, but her legs had no more strength, and she buckled forward. Freezing to death was preferable to being mauled by a hungry wolf. She waited for it to strike, but it just stood, staring at her. Finally, it laid down in the snow, looking pointedly at her. It nudged some of the snow, looking at her again.  
"What do you want?" Celeste muttered, wondering if she was hallucinating. She dragged herself over to the wolf, and laid down next to it. The wolf was warm and soft, and within moments, Celeste was asleep.

The next morning, Celeste's body ached with all the pains associated with sleeping on the ground, but when she woke, the wolf was gone. She stood shakily propping herself up on the tree. It seemed that getting up was a mistake.  
"There she is!"  
Before she knew what was happening, cuffs were being snapped around her wrists. Jason Gray appeared in her line of vision, trying to look smug, but Celeste could tell the death of his sister had shaken him.  
"Come on," And just like that, she was carted away to jail.

Celeste sat in her jail cell, leaning against the back wall, drumming her fingers on the stone floor. She had been there for three days, with no sign of any one. The wound in her stomach had grown red and inflamed and was now leaking puss. It was disgusting, but she was refused medical care so there was nothing she could do about it. She had waited in jail for months before she had her trial, and she hated it the first time, and she had no desire to wait in this cell again.  
She looked up as a heavy door at the end of the hallway opened.  
"Celeste!"  
"Raven!" Celeste moved to the bars. "Thank god."  
Raven's eyes were red and puffy, and Celeste's heart went out to the poor girl. "I'm so sorry about Devynn. I had no idea she was like that." Celeste lowered her voice. "How long has she been depressed."  
Raven looked up, more tears pouring from her eyes. "She's always been like that. Since I've known her. It got worse after her family tried to kill her, it was especially hard for her to accept her brother had anything to do with it, said which is probably why she went back to him after she left us." She wiped her eyes.  
"I'm so sorry, Raven." Celeste murmured.  
"It's not your fault." Raven responded, still wiping tears from her eyes. "We need to figure out a way to get you out of here."  
"That's not going to happen." Jason stood at the end of the hallway. "I heard you had a visitor."  
"You!" Raven screamed, standing tall and balling her fists.  
"You," Jason said mildly. "You're the little twerp my sister was caught with."  
"I loved Devynn! Unlike you." She huffed.  
Jason opened his mouth, but Raven cut over him. "She's dead, because of you! You know Celeste didn't kill her! You know that you and your fucked up family drove her to take her own life!"  
Jason didn't seem to have the heart to fight her. Celeste saw what looked like real remorse on his face. He took a breath, and he leaned against a wall, staring at the floor.  
"I made sure she didn't die. When my mother wanted her killed, I made sure she passed out, but didn't die. I was still a medical student at the time...and I knew what would kill her and what wouldn't. I never wanted her to get hurt, but I knew she was safer away from my parents, safer if they thought she was dead." Jason looked up, tears welling in his eyes. "I'm sorry." And with that, he walked away.  
Raven sunk to the ground, crying.  
After about an hour or so, a police officer came and unlocked Celeste's cell door.  
"What's going on?" Celeste demanded, preparing herself to be handcuffed again.  
"You're being released," the officer said gruffly. "Apparently someone made a mistake. You're free to go."


	22. Chapter 22

Erik stared up at the rising sun, feeling the snow beneath his bare feet.  
"What are you doing up so early?" Christine emerged from the house, wrapping a robe around her nightgown. "It's a little early, isn't it?"  
"I thought I saw a wolf." Erik murmured, surveying the snowy landscape.  
"I think it might have just been a reflection on the snow." Christine murmured. "I don't see a wolf."  
"Yeah." Erik murmured. He turned, ready to go back into the house when something caught his eye. Coming up the path was two people, both relatively short. As they got closer, he saw that the second person was leaning heavily on the first.  
"Who is that?" Christine squinted.  
"It's Raven. And..." he wasn't sure about the identity of the second person until they were only a few meters away. He took off running down the lane, scooping the woman he had thought to be dead up in his arms. Her hair was longer, and she looked horribly bruised and battered, but it was undeniably Celeste.  
"Put me down, you lout!" Celeste gasped as he squeezed her to his chest. He refused to let her go, tears springing to his eyes. She fought him for a minute, but she gave in to the embrace. "Please don't squeeze so tight. My abdomen is still healing."  
"Sorry!" Erik loosened his grip. He put a hand under her chin and kissed her deeply. "I'm so happy you're alive."  
"How are you alive, exactly?" Christine asked.  
"That is a very long story." She muttered. "I really need to lie down."  
"Come on." Erik said, pulling her into the house. "Welcome home."

_End of part two_


	23. Chapter 23 (Part 3)

"So what are we, exactly?" Erik asked, pulling up his trousers and fixing his belt. He stood on the other side of the bed, adjacent to where Celeste was. She sat on the edge of the mattress, binding her chest with practiced hands. She glanced over her shoulder, her hair swinging in her face.  
"What do you mean?" She muttered, sliding her shirt over her shoulders and doing up the buttons. She knew exactly what he meant but had no intention of acknowledging the point he was trying to make.  
"We keep, doing this, but what does it mean? What do we mean?"  
"We have sex, Erik. We're not married. This doesn't have to mean anything."  
"Maybe to you." He huffed, pulling his shirt over his head and fixing on the black mask that she had given him a long time ago. "For years we've done this back and forth, but I-"  
"Sorry," she had stood, tapping the side of his face before he could finish, before he could say those three words that she couldn't say back. "I have some work to do around the house."  
Erik ground his teeth. "Stop running away from this."  
"I'm not running I just don't have time." She ducked her head out of the room and headed down the staircase that lead into the foyer of the house. A woman of 24 stood at the bottom of the stairs, holding a basket of clothes.  
"You had time just a few minutes ago!" Erik called over the railing at her retreating back. "So what am I then? Your man-whore?"  
Celeste felt her face turn red and she pushed past the girl, who followed her into the sitting room.  
"What was that about?" She asked.  
"It's nothing, Nicole." Celeste said, brushing her hair out of her eyes. She usually didn't let her hair past her ears but now her tips brushed her shoulders. She didn't like it, but for some reason she didn't have the heart to cut it. She pulled a ribbon off her wrist and tied it back sloppily.  
"Didn't sound like nothing," she giggled. Celeste could tell it was forced, but it was good to see her smile. They found her about about a month ago, when she and some of the others had scouted the area around the manor they now lived in. They had found the smoldering remains of a home and this woman, shivering and alone in the barn. She couldn't be more than 24, and only stood at maybe 5 foot 2. On top of that, she was several months pregnant, and the father, Celeste guessed, most likely died in the fire. Nicole was happy to join their group, but had not divulged the gruesome details of her past. Celeste didn't blame her.  
"I'll tell you about it later," she muttered, glancing around again, hoping Erik hadn't followed her. "Have you seen Raven?"  
Nicole nodded. "Yeah. She's in her room. You know what day it is."  
Celeste had forgotten all about that. It was the anniversary of when Devynn died. Two years had passed and Raven didn't seem to be getting over it any time soon.  
"I'll go talk to her." Celeste said, rubbing the back of her neck. "Keep an eye on the kids, will you?"  
Christine had run into town, and she had left her behind in Celeste's "capable" hands. But Roxanne had started walking and talking now, which was a little bit more than she knew how to handle. Raydon was older, but he could still be a handful. Celeste was grateful to Nicole, since Raven had been letting her babysitting duties slip recently.  
"Of course." This time Nicole's smile was genuine. Celeste patted her shoulder gratefully before traveling to the back of the house, where the other bedrooms were. She tapped softly on the door she knew belonged to Raven, waiting for just a moment before letting herself in.  
"Hey," Celeste said softly. She wasn't one for being tender and loving, but she decided she'd try on Raven's behalf.  
"Go away." Raven muttered, buried under a pile of blankets on her bed. The mass of blankets shifted, and Celeste could see a few black curls poking out, and she did her best not to sit on the other woman's hair as she settled on to the bed.  
"Raven, I know you miss her, but she wouldn't want you to grieve like this."  
"How would you know what she wanted?"  
Celeste knew that Raven blamed her for Devynn's death, as much as she had tried to deny it over the years. On days like today, Raven's resentment was front and center.  
"I know she loved you, and seeing you in this much pain... I know she wouldn't want that."  
"What do you know about pain? Shit just bounces right off you. You have no emotional depth. You don't feel anything. You're just a cold bitch, and I'm surprised Erik has put up with out you as long as he has. If you had any decency, you'd let him go."  
Celeste stood, feeling like Raven had stabbed her in the chest with an icicle. "If you want to sulk all day and act like a brat see if I care."  
She did care, but she wouldn't back down now.


	24. Chapter 24

"How's Raven?" Erik asked.  
On the tip of her tongue was Celeste's rant about how terrible she felt about Devynn's death, but how unfair it was that Raven was blaming Celeste for her death, but she stopped herself short. Instead, she snapped, "Still in bed, wallowing in self pity."  
"Just give her some space." Erik said. "She loves you, and she'll come around."  
That's not what bothered Celeste. It's the fact that she knew Raven was right.  
"Okay." She said. She didn't want to go into it with Erik. She wasn't good at touchy-feely.  
Night had fallen on another terrible day in the world of Celeste Hadage, and she crawled into bed next to Erik, staring at the wall long after Erik's soft snores filled the room. She rolled over, staring at Erik's face. His mouth hung open, and his head lolled off to one side. The muscles in his face were relaxed, and Celeste almost wanted to laugh. This man, with a bit of drool on his chin, had once been the feared and infamous Phantom of the Opera. Now he slept next to her, and she knew she didn't deserve him.  
Celeste sat up, climbing out of bed and down the stairs. Closing the front door softly behind her, she wandered into the forest that surrounded the manor. She found the tallest, thickest tree she could find, and began to make her way up. Her fingers closed around the branches and her feet found the little footholds in the notches and imperfections in the bark, and she steadily climbed as her breath rose in a thin mist in front of her face. She found a sturdy branch and balanced there, holding on to the trunk for support.  
She closed her eyes, remembering that moment when she had hid in a tree, hoping and praying the police didn't find her. She remember the snow stinging her face, and could still feel the blood oozing through her fingers, as the wound across her belly had ripped open for the umpteenth time. She remembered the wolf whose warmth had made Celeste get through the night and had disappeared the next morning.  
Celeste opened her eyes and stared up into the night sky, looking for answers in the stars but only finding silence. After a long time of looking up, the stars long since faded as the moon rose higher in the sky, she shifted her weight on the branch, with the intent of climbing down. A loud snap filled her ears and she tumbled to the ground as the branch gave way under her boots. She hit her head hard on the ground, and when she lifted her head, she knew she must have been dreaming. The landscape was covered in snow, and the white powder around her was stained red. She yelled in pain and tried to lift herself to her feet, doing so after a few painful attempts. In the distance, she could see the manor, surrounded by swirling snow. Clamping an arm around her bleeding abdomen, she trudged through the snow, using her other arm to shield the snow from her eyes. The longer she walked, the more intense the storm became and the farther the house seemed to be. She wanted to go back to Erik, to her warm bed, and her sense of purpose. All those things could be found in that house if she could just reach it...  
Finally, she stopped, turning and looking back the way she came. Blue skies stretched to the horizon, and the grass was untouched by the storm. A white wolf stood at the top of a hill, staring at her.  
"Which way do I go?" She yelled, trying to be heard over the roar of the wind.  
The wolf howled before it walked over the crest of the hill and out of sight.

"Celeste!"  
Celeste's head pounded and her body ached as she was suddenly forced back into the waking world. She could remember the strange dream she had had, but had no idea what it meant. As she lifted her head, she found she was laying on the mossy ground, just a few feet away from where the branch lay. The sun had peaked over the horizon, and she was covered in morning dew. Someone crouched beside her, placing a hand on her back.  
"Celeste, are you okay?"  
She pushed herself to her hands and knees carefully, her entire body shaking from spending the night lying on the ground. "I don't know."  
"Come on," Erik said tenderly, helping her to her feet. "Let's get you cleaned up."  
For once she didn't bother arguing with him.


	25. Chapter 25

Erik closed the bedroom door softly behind him as he let Celeste sleep off whatever had happened to her last night. She said she's been climbing a tree when she fell, probably giving herself a concussion. Erik was glad that for once she didn't fight him when he took her upstairs and insisted she rest for at least the remainder of the day. He made his way downstairs, walking past people as the house started to wake up.  
"Good morning," Christine said, standing in front of the stove, stirring something. Nicole sat at the kitchen table, kneading dough on a flowered surface.  
"Morning." Erik said, sitting at the table with Nicole.  
"Find Celeste?" Christine asked.  
"Yeah, passed out at the bottom of a tree." He muttered.  
"What?"  
"She was out climbing a tree last night when the branch broke and she hit her head. She's sleeping it off now."  
"I'm glad she's okay, at least." Christine said.  
"I thought she left." Erik murmured. "For good."  
Christine was silent for a few moments, continuing to stir her pot. Nicole rolled out her dough and placed it on a tray, covering it with a damp towel.  
"What kind of bread are you making?" Erik asked.  
Nicole flinched, obviously not expecting Erik to address her. "Barra cantábrica. It's like a french baguette, but it's airier and has a thicker crust. My father taught me how to make it when we lived in Spain."  
Erik raised an eyebrow. "You're Spanish?"  
She nodded. "Half. My mother was French. Until about three years ago I lived in France with my parents and my brother, when I was engaged to a french man."  
This was the most anyone had been able to get out of Nicole about her past.  
"My parents moved out here with me." She murmured, downcasting her eyes.  
"What about your brother?" Erik asked, assuming if that her brother was still in Spain, he hadn't died in whatever fire Nicole had been involved in.  
"He's in Italy now, I think." She rubbed the back of her neck. "My parents kicked him out when he was 15."  
"What did he do?" Christine asked. "Must have been pretty bad."  
Nicole's face turned red. "My father caught him in his room, kissing another boy."  
Christine gaped, unsure what to say.  
"Nothing I've never seen before." Erik muttered.  
"Really?" Christine asked.  
"People who are shunned by society tend to stick together." Erik said softly. "Someone can't control who they fall in love with anymore than I can control my face looking this way."  
Christine twisted her mouth, looking down, and Nicole looked at him questioningly.  
"Is that why you wear the mask?"  
Erik touched the black leather mask Celeste had made for him "Yeah. My face is pretty messed up. Then again, we all knew about Raven and Devynn." Erik added. "So it's not such a strange concept for you either, Christine."  
"I guess not," she murmured. "I just never thought about two men..." she chewed on this information for a moment.  
"It didn't bother me any," Nicole said. "My brother found out when he was 14 or so, coming to me crying and telling me that he liked boys in the way he liked girls, and I told him that if he ever told our parents, he was dead meat. And I was right." Nicole huffed, glancing over at her bread. "Damn thing has to rise for an hour or so."  
"The best things in life are worth waiting for." Erik said. Nicole smiled.  
"Well you won't have to wait for breakfast much longer," Christine said, rubbing her hands on her apron. "Raydon!"  
The boy scurried into the kitchen, followed by a tottering Roxanne, who was just turning four.  
"Yes, ma'am?" He asked, rocking back and forth on his heels.  
"Could you take this up to Celeste's room," she handed him a steaming bowl. He nodded and headed off, Roxanne close behind him.  
"Raydon and Roxanne are pretty inseparable." Erik noted, watching the two children as they left.  
"Mm." Christine muttered.  
"What, it's not like they're going to get married." Erik said. "It's nice that Raydon sees you like his mom."  
Christine smiled sadly. "It's good that he has some people here who he considers family."  
"We all need to be a family." Erik said.  
"Morning."  
They all looked over as Raven entered the kitchen. Her black curls were frizzy and unkempt, and her face was pale and hollow.  
"Look who finally emerges from her den." Christine said. "You look like death, hun."  
"I feel like it."  
Christine had done her best to console Raven after Devynn died, but a lack of understanding about their relationship and just her not knowing much about Raven didn't help much. Christine had lost Raoul, but she had no one to blame but the illness that took him, Raven had so many people she could place guilt on, which led her to still be angry.  
Raven sat across the table from Erik, a few chairs away from Nicole.  
"I was thinking about coming into town today," Erik murmured. "Would you like to come with me, Raven?"  
Raven shrugged, stirring her porridge absentmindedly. Everyone had tried everything with Raven, from being compassionate and understanding, to giving her the tough love she sorely needed, but nothing broke her of this two year long rut for her.  
"Could I come with?" Nicole asked, perking up a little. "I really need to get out of the house."  
"Sure." Erik said. "I need to get a few pieces for something I'm working on, and some then to the grocer, if you need anything, Christine."  
"I have a list," she nodded.  
"I'll leave after noon then." Erik finished his breakfast and headed upstairs to check on Celeste. She was curled up into a little ball under the blankets, and her face was scrunched up, as though she was thinking about something unpleasant. Erik smiled, running his fingers through her hair.  
"Erik," she murmured, her face relaxing slightly. "Don't leave me."  
It was clear she was talking in her sleep, but for the moment he indulged her request and laid down on the bed, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her close to his body, dosing off for a little cat nap.


	26. Chapter 26

Erik pulled the hood of his cloak up higher as he entered the tavern, glancing around nervously before making his way to the bar. He dropped the hood slowly, and made eye contact with the barmaid. She was tall, with short brown hair and dark eyes. She had a mischievous smile that had Erik convinced she was very good at selling drinks.  
"I've never seen you, stranger." She said.  
"Just passing through." He murmured. He set some coins down on the counter and she hurried off to make his drink. She came back with his mug, and lingered.  
"What's your name?" She asked.  
"Erik." He responded.  
"That's a nice name. Mine's Celia,"  
"Good to meet you." Erik decided to use this as an opportunity to fish for a little information. "So what goes on in this town?"  
"Nothing, unless you include the local drunks, the gambling, and the occasional tragedy."  
"Have a lot of those recently?"  
"I guess so. A while ago a house burned down, they say the wife who lived there was having an affair, and her lover burned down the house."  
That didn't sound like Nicole.  
"Anyone dead?"  
"Everyone in the house, including the woman, her husband, and her parents."  
"Jesus." Erik muttered.  
"Yeah. The Garlans were good people. Mae and Angelo did everything they could for Nicole."  
Erik shifted in his seat. "Did you know the family well?"  
"I did. I knew the husband, Preston." She murmured. "We were friends, and I liked Nicole well enough."  
Erik figured that was enough gossip for today.  
"I wouldn't think something like that would happen in a place like this."  
"It was quite the scandal." She said, raising her eyebrows.  
"I can imagine." He finished his mug and left a tip on the counter. "Thanks for the drink and conversation."  
"Anytime." She flashed a smile and gave him a little wink.  
Erik left the tavern, lifting his hood again. He found Nicole a few blocks down, holding bags of food items.  
"Find everything?" Erik asked.  
"Yeah." She nodded.  
"Lets head back then."  
Erik didn't know what to do with what he had just found out about Nicole. He wondered how much of what Celia said was true. He glanced sideways at her. The truth got lost when it came to gossip, but the lies came from grains of truth. He would just have to wait to see if she would be willing to share her story.

Erik tapped on the bathroom door, waiting a few moments for a response.  
"Celeste?"  
He heard her retching behind the door and he suddenly became worried. He pushed the door open.  
"Go away," Celeste muttered, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand.  
"Are you okay?" Erik asked, ignoring her demand.  
"I'm fine." She sat back against the bathroom wall. "I stood up to fast and I got nauseous. From the concussion."  
"You should really be in bed."  
She waved a hand. "I'm fine." She scratched her head. "I heard you went into town today. Did anyone see you?"  
"Only a cute barmaid who gave me some information on Nicole. And I'm dead, remember?"  
"Planning on leaving me for this cute barmaid?"  
"Oh yeah. We're running away together on the marrow." Erik sat down on the bathroom floor next to her. He kissed her forehead gently. She leaned on his shoulder, closing her eyes.  
"I love you," he murmured.  
"Mm," she shifted, snuggling into his shoulder. Her breathing deepened, and he lifted her up, bring her back to their room. Erik went down stairs to find Raydon sitting at the dining room table, his fingers in his ears as he stared at a book, mouthing the words.  
Erik tapped the boy on the shoulder, causing him to remove his fingers. "What are you doing?"  
"Trying to read," he said. "Christine is trying to teach me, but she has a lot to do."  
"This is a difficult book to start with." He said, picking up the large novel. "Les Miserables?" It was a classic, one he had read many times while he lived under the opera house. It could keep him entertained for at least a week, since the damn thing was as big as a brick.  
"Tell you what," Erik said, setting the book down. "Find me tomorrow and I'll help you learn. But for now it's late. It's off to bed with you."  
"Okay." He hoped down from his chair. He wrapped his arms around Erik's legs for a moment before heading off to his room. Erik froze where he stood, stunned by the gesture. He shook it off and too the book back to the living room. As he walked to the bookshelf, he noticed someone else was up reading.  
"Can't sleep?" Erik asked as he walked by Nicole. She jumped, holding her book to her chest. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."  
"It's alright," she breathed, still holding her chest. "I was just really engrossed in my book.  
"I could tell." Erik smiled. He sat down in an armchair, still holding Les Mis. "Are you okay?"  
"As well as I can be." She muttered. She set aside her book and set her hands on her swollen abdomen, her eyes downcast.  
"What's on your mind?" He asked gently.  
"Just... what happened to me. The fire." She murmured.  
"I heard something about that while I was in town," Erik admitted. "If you need to talk about it, I'm always here to listen. And I'm sorry about your parents and your husband."  
She nodded slowly. "They tell you not to speak poorly of the dead, but...my parents weren't that great. Obviously they threw my brother out. My mother was a nightmare, overbearing and uptight. And my father was another story." She sat up a little. "And my husband... I married him only because my mother wanted me to. But I didn't love him. He was a good man, and I respected him, but our relationship was only skin deep."  
"So what happened that night?" Erik asked gently.  
"Well... I guess there's a little back story to this. I used to court this boy named Jonathan, but things ended between us when he was caught with my brother."  
"Oh." Erik said, stunned by this piece of information.  
"Yeah. He and Daren stayed together I guess, but then Jonathan did something horrible to Daren. Both of them had to leave the country because of it. But then Jonathan came back here, found out I was pregnant, and tried to convince everyone that he was the father. He got violent, grabbed the fire poker, and he attached my husband and my father. I got out of there, but," she wiped her eyes.  
"I'm so sorry." Erik murmured.  
"Don't be." She shook her hair out of her eyes. "I mostly feel guilty over the whole ordeal. It was my fault."  
"No, it wasn't." Erik insisted. "It was that boy's fault. You had nothing to do with it."  
Nicole nodded slowly, staring at the floor.  
"There's not much I can say to give you any comfort, except that as long as I have anything to say about it, you'll always have a home with us. It's not much, but it's better than nothing."  
She smiled slightly. "Thanks, Erik."  
"You should probably get some sleep." Erik said.  
"You're right." She yawned. "I'll see you tomorrow."  
"See you," he murmured. When she had left, he pulled a long, thin box out of the closet. He lifted the lid to reveal a long rifle. He disassembled it, running his fingers over the delicate pieces. He had found this in an upstairs closet, and had been working on it in secret. Celeste didn't approve of guns, but there was only so much she could do with her swords to protect their people. He had bought oil while in town, and he dripped some onto a rag and ran it over the moving parts of the gun.  
"What are you doing?"  
He looked up and saw Raven standing there. She had bags under her eyes, and her once thick and luscious curls hung limply around her face.  
"Just trying to make this thing work," Erik explained. "I just need to get some ammo for it and test it."  
"You know how Celeste feels about those things." Raven murmured, sitting down next to Erik.  
"Since when did you start caring about what Celeste thought?" Erik murmured, running a rag over the barrel of the gun.  
Raven shrugged uncomfortably.  
"You can't be mad at her forever." Erik pointed out. "What happened wasn't her fault. You can't keep blaming her. I know you need someone to blame, but..."  
"She's done plenty of other shitty things for me to be mad at her about."  
"Yes, but you're choosing be mad about them."  
"Just stop, Erik." Raven snapped. "I don't need you to analyze me."  
"Sorry." Erik murmured, "But you and Celeste have been friends for years. I just want both of you to be happy."  
"You spend too much time trying to make other people happy." Raven muttered.  
"That's because I spent a lot of time hurting people." Erik responded. "I'm just trying to make up for some of that."  
Raven stood, patting his shoulder. "I think it's about time you start looking out for yourself."


	27. Chapter 27

Celeste stumbled out of the bathroom, leaning against the wall, pressing a hand to her head. She waited, nausea hitting her again. She dove back into the bathroom as bile rose in her throat.  
"Are you okay?" Christine appeared in the hallway, poking her head into the room.  
"Not really." Celeste stood when she was sure she wasn't going to vomit again.  
Christine pressed the back of her hand to Celeste's head. "You're not running a fever."  
"I'm fine." Celeste brushed her off quickly, not wanting Christine to over think her illness too much. She felt dread in the pit of her stomach, and she knew what was going on.  
"If you say so." Christine muttered, looking skeptical.  
Celeste pushed past Christine, going down stairs. She knocked on Raven's door and entered when she got confirmation from Raven. Raven was still making her bed, her black curls still unruly and showing signs of bedhead.  
"Celeste, I don't-"  
"Please, Raven. Can we just pretend we're talking again, for just a minute. I really need someone to talk to. I need my best friend back, for just a minute." Celeste wiped tears out of her eyes. It had been a long time since she had cried, and Raven's eyes went wide when she saw this genuine sign of emotion.  
"Sit down." Raven muttered, giving in and patting the newly made bed. "Tell me what's going on,"

"Wow." Raven murmured. "Have you told Erik?"  
"No. And he's not going to know." Celeste insisted. "I know he should know, but I can't tell him. Too many people hate me. I couldn't stand it if he did to."  
Raven scratched the back of her neck, looking guilty. "I guess you already decided about what you're going to do then."  
"I don't have a choice," Celeste ran a hand under her eyes, desperately wishing for the tears to stop.  
"Maybe if you told Erik-"  
"No." Celeste was not budging. "He'd want to do the right thing. He'd want to get married or whatever, and that's not the life I want. And I don't think he wants it either. I don't want to upset the balance. I know you think I treat Erik like shit, but I don't want to lose him."  
Raven considered her for a moment. "I don't think you treat Erik like shit, it's just... he has a lot of love to give, but you have walled yourself off to that kind of love."  
Celeste didn't want to admit that Erik had began tearing those walls down, brick by brick, in the two years that they had been together. "You... you're right."  
"You have no idea how long I've been waiting for you to say that." Raven smiled.  
"You are though. I don't deserve Erik. And this group has developed and has grown without my help. I just..." she raked her fingers through her hair. "I feel like everyone would be better off if I left."  
Raven furrowed her brows. "I don't think that's true. This group functions because you are here. You make sure we have money for food and that we have wood for fire and make sure we stay protected. I'd hardly say that's doing nothing."  
"Erik takes care of a lot of that now." Celeste admitted. "When I was gone for months, being dead and stuff, he made sure people were taken care of, and he still does that. He took Nicole into town to see a doctor when that never crossed my mind, and he's teaching Raydon to read... and Christine has really stepped up to. I just feel like I've lost my place."  
Raven was silent for a while, and finally she looked up, looking Celeste in the eye for the first time in months. "So what's your plan?"  
Celeste sighed. "I really have no idea. Right now, I just really want a drink."  
Raven laughed. "It's 10am."  
"Sounds like the perfect time for me."  
Raven stretched her arms over her head. "I think there's some whiskey in the kitchen."  
"Don't mind if I do." Celeste stood up and went to the kitchen to retrieve the alcohol.

That night, Celeste waited until Erik was deep asleep, feeling only a little guilty about what she was about to do. With that, she slipped out of the house and into the darkness, a hint of booze on her breath.


	28. Chapter 28

Raven opened her eyes, unsure exactly what had woken her up. She sat up, listening for whatever had pulled her from sleep. There was a soft thump on the door, and she lit the candle by the bed before answering the door, hoping that whoever had woken her up this late had a good reason for it. She swung the door open and was shocked by what she saw. Celeste was doubled over, her face pale, with blood staining the tan trousers she was wearing. It was an alarming amount of blood.  
"Celeste!" Raven helped Celeste to the bed, laying her down. Celeste curled up, groaning in pain, and Raven had no idea what to do, if there was anything she could do. She ran upstairs, knocking on Christine's door.  
"Yes? What's wrong," Christine was wrapping a robe around her nightgown when she came to the door. Her chestnut curls were pulled back into an loose bun.  
"It's Celeste," Raven said breathlessly. "She's done something stupid." Despite knowing that Celeste would kill her for divulging this information, Raven told Christine what was going on and what she was sure Celeste had done.  
"Oh god," Christine pressed a hand to her mouth. "Should we wake up Erik?"  
"Only if we want to be dead by morning." Raven said seriously. "She doesn't want him to know."  
Christine twisted her mouth. "Well lets see what we can do."  
They returned to Raven's room, and Christine shook her head and went to Celeste's side.  
"I told you not to tell." Celeste said weakly as Christine started looking Celeste over.  
"I wanted to make sure you were okay." Raven said. "It was Christine or Erik."  
"Help me get her clothes off, then we should run her a hot bad, to get the blood off and hopefully clean out any potential wounds."  
Celeste complied as they stripped the bloody clothes off her and lowered her into a warm bath.  
"You really need to stop binding." Christine murmured, lifting Celeste's arm and inspecting the bruises on her ribs that were the result of Celeste binding her breasts with bandages.  
"No," she muttered, coming back to the real world. She sat up in the tub, pulling her knees to her chest.  
"Some of your color is coming back, I think you just have to deal with some blood loss, but other than that I think you'll be okay."  
Celeste nodded, staring down and not meeting either of the other women's gazes.

When Erik awoke the next morning to find the bed empty. He sat up, a little confused, as it was too early for Celeste to be up already. He got dressed, mask included, and headed downstairs. He found Raven and Christine in the kitchen, whispering to each other conspiratorially.  
"Have you two seen Celeste?" He asked, sitting at the table.  
"She's in my room, sleeping." Raven said quickly.  
Erik arched an eyebrow. "You two have made up, then?"  
Raven nodded. "Yeah, we were talking late and she fell asleep."  
Erik still wasn't convinced that this was all that was going on, considering how worried Christine looked and their private chat a moment ago, but he decided to let it go for now.  
"Good morning, Erik." Nicole said as she entered the kitchen. "Morning Christine, Raven."  
"Morning." Erik responded, turning in his chair to look at her. "You seem to be in a good mood today."  
"I feel a little bit better today." She confirmed. "I was thinking about taking the kids into town today. They don't get to get out of the house much. If that's alright with you, Christine."  
"I think that sounds like a wonderful idea." Christine smiled. "Erik you should go too. It'd be good for you to get some air."  
"Yeah!" Nicole smiled again.  
"Sure." Erik said slowly. They were defiantly trying to get him out of the house. What was wrong?


	29. Chapter 29

Erik balanced little Roxanne on his hip and Nicole held Raydon's hand as they walked into town. He felt very odd holding up the small child, who was currently chewing on the edge of her dress, but since that was keeping her occupied, Erik had no qualms letting her continue. He felt awkward around kids, since he felt like they could sense that he had no idea what to do with them. Nicole seemed right a home with them however, and he knew she was going to make a great mother.  
"I can hold her if you want me to." Nicole said, holding out her arms for Roxanne. Erik happily handed her over, and Raydon scuttled over by Erik. His pudgy little fingers wrapped around Erik's hand. Erik smiled a little. Kids weren't that bad.  
"Nicole?"  
They had just past the bar, and a familiar blonde barmaid stood, her eyes wide.  
"Celia." Nicole looked shocked.  
"Everyone thought you were dead." She looked Erik up and down, a sour look in her eye. She saw Raydon and her face went white. "Where have you...when...who..."  
"Maybe we should talk in private." Nicole muttered.  
Celia gaped for a moment before nodding. She gestured them into the bar, going into one of the private dining rooms.  
"What happened to you?" Celia demanded. "Everyone thinks that you died in the fire."  
Nicole took a breath as she sat in a chair, bouncing Roxanne on her knee. "Obviously I survived. Erik and his..." she hesitated "his partner, Celeste, took me in. I've been living with them."  
"Celeste?" Celia looked back at Raydon. "Jesus."  
"Do you know Celeste?" Erik asked, leaning forward.  
Celia swallowed hard. "I do. Actually. I thought she was dead too. Something in the newspapers two and a half years ago."  
That was when Celeste had been executed.  
"Nicole, you don't have to stay with these people. I know your in laws were destroyed when they found it. I'm sure they'd be happy to know you're alive."  
Nicole shook her head. "My husband's parents saw me as an incubator, that the grandchildren were more important than I was."  
"Even so, it would probably be better if you were with them."  
"I'm alright where I am now. I was actually thinking of going to see my brother."  
This was news to Erik.  
"Daren?" Celia shook her head. "Who are the little ones?" She gestured to Roxanne.  
"This is Roxanne, she's two, she's the daughter of a friend of mine, and this is Raydon. Celeste takes care of him."  
"Hi, madam." Raydon smiled shyly and waved.  
"Oh does she now?" Celia's face turned red. "Would you mind if I cam with you? There are a few things that I feel like I should talk to her about."  
"Uh, sure." Nicole looked to Erik ask though for permission.  
"I guess that's alright." Erik wondered what connection this woman had to Celeste.

"Celeste?" Erik called as he, Celia, and Nicole filed back into the house with the kids. "Could you go find something to do, Raydon?" The boy nodded and hurried upstairs.  
Celeste appeared at the top of the stairs, and something was decidedly off about her. Her skin was pale and she looked weak, which was something Celeste certainly wasn't. She was wearing one of his shirts, which fell to her knees. Modesty was certainty something she didn't care about.  
"Yes, Erik?" She muttered, running a hand through her hair. She opened her eyes fully and registered Celia's existence. "What are you doing here?" Celeste demanded.  
"Who the hell do you think you are?" Celia countered. "What's Raydon doing with you?"  
Erik was invested in the drama now.  
"Get the hell out of my house." Celeste was down the stairs now, and she had to lean on Erik for support.  
"What's wrong?" Nicole asked, also picking up on Celeste's odd behavior.  
"Nothing. And Raydon became my responsibility when you dumped him because you couldn't hack it." Celeste stumbled back into Erik as Celia's blow landed across her cheek.  
"Enough!" Erik snapped, stepping in. "I think you should leave."  
"Fine." Celia barked. Her face softened as she turned to Nicole. "Let me know if you need anything."  
Nicole nodded as Celia left. Erik turned his attention to Celeste, helping her back up the stairs and to their room.  
"I can walk," Celeste muttered, sitting on the corner of their bed.  
"So what was that about?" Erik asked. He was concerned for her health, but he had so many questions about how Celeste knew Celia.  
"Celia is my sister." Celeste murmured.  
"Sister?!"  
"Half. My father wasn't the most faithful of people." Celeste muttered. "It was after my son was born and she showed up, six months pregnant. We had no idea she existed. Luckily my mother was dead, otherwise she would have killed my father. She came looking for money, a place to stay. She left after the baby was born. A few years later when my son and husband...I found Raydon in an orphanage. He's recognizable by the birthmark on his face, and I knew it was him. I couldn't let him grow up like that." Celeste looked up at him. "I never brought it up because I never thought I'd see her again."  
"It's okay." Erik ran a hand over her back. "Are you okay, luv?"  
"I just need some sleep." She rubbed her head. "Do you think you could give me a minute, alone?"  
"Of course." Erik murmured.  
He headed down stairs, where he found Nicole.  
"Hey."  
"Hey," she looked up from her book. "How's Celeste? She wasn't looking so good."  
"She's going through something." Something she hadn't yet disclosed to Erik but that was a different story. "So what's this about your brother?"  
She sat up a little straighter, brushing a brown curl out of his face. "I miss him. I haven't seen him since my parents kicked him out. We've exchanged a few letters, and he's been through something awful. He even had to change his name when he left the country. He goes by Harper now. But I want to find him. I have his last place of residence from his letter, so I thought I'd start there."  
Erik nodded. "When did you plan on leaving?" He would be sad to see her go. She'd been the only ray of sunshine in this house. As much as he loved Celeste, he was beginning to feel the strain of loving someone and not being sure of their feelings you. Christine being here was a reminder of that. Though that situation was a lot different. The only time Celeste told him she loved him had been two and a half years ago, when she had been bleeding out in his arms. Now she was disappearing at night and keeping things from him. He wondered if she was staying with him because she loved him, or because it was easy. He liked being around Nicole. She wasn't guarded in ways that pushed Erik out.  
"I'd hate to see you go." Erik admitted. "But I want you to be happy."  
Her cheeks grew red with embarrassment. "Thanks."  
Erik sighed. "Just out of curiosity, how far along are you?"  
"Five months." Nicole murmured. Erik was surprised; he thought she must have been close to full term. But then again he didn't know much about pregnancies.  
"Let me know before you go," Erik said. "I want to be able to say goodbye."  
"Of course. I wouldn't just slip out in the middle of the night."  
Well, that made one person in this house.


	30. Chapter 30

Celeste made her way into the living room where Christine and Nicole were talking. Christine looked up, eyebrows raised.  
"How are you feeling?"  
"Like shit."  
"You always feel like shit." Christine said. It was obvious she was over Celeste.  
"What happened happened Christine and I can't change it now."  
"That wasn't something that just "happens", Celeste. You made a choice," Christine sighed, putting her hands on her lap. "I'm not going to help you feel better about yourself. If you want answers or a shoulder, talk to Erik."  
"You know I can't talk to him!" Celeste roared. "I just... She backed out of the living room before turning and running out the front door.

Erik stepped out onto porch, looking around, trying to spot Celeste in the trees. He walked into the woods the surrounded the house. He finally saw her dangling legs.  
"Hey," he murmured, leaning against the tree trunk.  
She didn't look down at him, just staring up at the sky. "Why do you love me?"  
"What?"  
"Why. Do. You. Love. Me." She said more pointedly. "For more than two years you've put up with me. You sleep next to me, you kiss me, tell me often that you love me. We...we have sex, but we don't talk, we're not like any couple I've ever met. We don't plan on getting married and we take care of other people more than we take care of ourselves."  
"Well," Erik said, "two dead people can't get married, can they?"  
Celeste shook her head, but she looked down at him. "What are we doing, Erik?"  
"Who says we have to be doing anything." Erik shrugged.  
She dropped down from her tree. "Erik that's not what I mean."  
"I know." He rubbed the back of his head. "If I'm being honest... I love you because you're bold, because you can kick my ass when I need it, you're not afraid of anything, and you gave everything up to keep the people you love safe." He lifted her chin with a finger.  
"You deserve better." She murmured.  
"It's not up to you to choose what I deserve." Erik kissed her softly, pulling her close. She grabbed his shirt, forcefully pushing him up against the tree. He could feel her need in her lips and hands, in the way she pushed her hips into Erik's, but he wasn't exactly sure what she needed. His body responded to hers, and for just a moment, he gave into her, kissing her back and letting his hands wander. After about a minute, he put his hands on her chest, pushing her away slightly.  
"Celeste," he breathed. "What's wrong? What aren't you telling me?"  
She crumbled like paper in his hands. Tears started pouring from her eyes, and Erik had no idea what to do. He pulled her to his chest, but the tighter he held her the more she cried. "Celeste!"  
She pulled away from him, trying to get ahold of herself. When he lifted a hand to help, she stepped back. "Don't touch me. Please." She was hyperventilating, pulling her hair, still crying. Erik had never seen her in such a state. He wanted to help, he wanted to do something but all he could do was watch and hoped she calmed down.  
Finally her breathing became even, and she managed to regain her hold on reality. Erik went to her, picking her up in his arms, and she let him. He carried her into the house, and in his arms, she murmured "We're not good for each other."


	31. Chapter 31

Erik waited for Celeste to wake up, he himself just staring at the ceiling. He hadn't gotten much sleep last night, thinking about everything that Celeste had said to him last night. He knew he needed to talk to her, that they needed to say things that have been left unsaid. But he didn't want to. Not yet. He just wanted the illusion to continue for a just a minute longer.  
Sun streamed in through the window, landing on Celeste's face. He couldn't look at her anymore, so he opened a book, just trying to focus on the words. After an hour or so, Celeste began stirring. Erik sighed, knowing that if was all over.  
"Morning." Celeste muttered, sitting up.  
"Morning." Erik responded, not looking up.  
Celeste swung her legs out and she got up, starting to get dressed.  
"We need to talk." Erik said seriously.  
"Later." She murmured, wrapping the bandages around her chest.  
"No, now." Erik said, standing. "Celeste. I think it's about time I left this place."  
Celeste looked up, and he could see some of the fire return to her eyes that she had lost the past few months.  
"What?" She demanded, "Leave everyone, just abandon them?!"  
"Everyone here is fine without me. You're better off without me."  
"No! Erik if anyone should leave, it's me." Celeste stepped forward. "I'm not good for anyone here! You are the glue that is holding this place together."  
"No. I'm not." Erik shook his head. "This is your place, your vision. And it's clear you've outgrown me. You've used me up, I'm some plaything you no longer have any use for!"  
Celeste's chest was heaving. "Do you really think that little of me?"  
"Then tell me you love me!" Erik snapped. "You haven't been able to tell me since you were dying in my arms! You could only ever accept your feelings for me when you were dying and thought you would never have to see me again!"  
Celeste gaped, her mouth opening and closing as she thought of something to say.  
"Face it. You never loved me."  
"That's not fair!"  
"You're not being fair to me!" Erik insisted. He took a moment to visibly calmed himself. "Look, I,"  
Their shouting match was interrupted by the sounds of distant screams just beyond the window. Erik darted over, checking out what was going on.  
"Fuck," he breathed, and he ran out of the room and downstairs. He pulled the rifle out of the closet where it was hidden and made his way as quickly as possible outside. As the stepped out into the porch, he saw the whole scene. Raven and Nicole were scrambling up the low hanging branches of a tree as a black wolf, foaming and spitting as it tried desperately to attack them. Erik fumbled with the bullets, trying desperately to load them into the gun.  
"Erik!" Raven cried out, losing her grip on one of the branches.  
"Hold on!" He finally managed to load it, releasing the bolt, and lifting it to aim. He hadn't yet test shot the gun, and he prayed that it would shoot and not just blow up in his face. He squeezed the trigger and with a loud bag, the bullet exited the gun and embedded itself in the shoulder of the angry wolf. It spun, flashing its fangs. Erik loaded the next bullet, this time shooting the wolf square in the chest, causing it to fall to the ground. He threw the gun aside and went to the aid of Raven and Nicole. Raven dropped to the ground, her face pale and her dress torn. Nicole needed coaxing from the tree. Erik managed to get her down, but her legs were too weak to support her so he carried her back into the house.  
"What happened?" Celeste demanded.  
"A wolf." Nicole was against Erik's chest, clinging to his shirt almost like a child Celeste's eyes flicked to Nicole before she looked back up at Erik. "Why didn't you tell me there was a gun in this house?"  
"Now is not the time Celeste."  
She glanced down at Nicole. "I guess it's not."  
He almost called after her, but decided that Nicole needed him more. He took her to her room, setting her on the bed.  
"Are you hurt?" He asked.  
She shook her head. "I'm okay, I think. Just really shook up."  
"It's understandable."  
Nicole nodded, looking away from him, her face red.  
"What were you and Raven doing outside?"  
"Talking." Nicole ran a hand under her eyes. "I want to leave soon and I just wanted some damn fresh air and this is what happen. I just want to leave France. Nothing good has happened here."  
"I know how that feels." Erik murmured, running a hand over her back. Erik suddenly had an idea. "If you need someone to go with you, I'd be more than happy to help you."  
"Really?" Nicole looked up at him with big brown eyes. "You would do that?"  
"Absolutely." Erik nodded. "There's nothing here for me anymore."


	32. Chapter 32

Celeste turned the rifle over in her hands, inspecting it with distain. She wondered how long Erik had been hiding this thing. Ever since she had come home to find her husband and son with bullet holes in their chests, and being forced to watch as Devynn blew out her own brains, she hated guns.  
"Are you okay, Raven?" Celeste asked as she threw the gun back into the closet and slammed the door.  
"I'm fine." Raven muttered.  
"You almost died." Celeste said dryly.  
"Don't be so dramatic."  
Celeste wasn't entirely convinced, but decided to move on. "Erik's leaving."  
"What?" Raven demanded, looking genuinely surprised.  
"You can say I told you so."  
"Celeste, I don't find humor in your pain." Raven muttered. "I was being cynical and mean when I said those things about Erik. I never wanted it to happen."  
Erik stood in the doorway, arms folded.  
"Raven, would you give us a minute?" Erik asked, his eyes cold and stony. Raven looked between them for a moment, eyebrow raised. Finally she stood and limped out of the room.  
"I'm leaving. I made up my mind." Erik said. His voice was flat and lifeless.  
Celeste wasn't ready to let him go.  
"Erik you can't just run away! There are people here who need you!"  
I need you.  
The unspoken words hung between them, and Erik's lip quivered as he considered his response carefully.  
"The people here don't need me. They all know how to take care of themselves. You don't need me to hold up this group, you need the group to hold you up now."  
"Erik, you finally have something good here. What do you plan on doing once you leave this place? Go back to wandering the streets, scrounging for food like you were when I found you?"  
"I'm going with Nicole." Erik explained. "To help her find her brother."  
Celeste could feel the blood rushing to her face. "What is it with you and her? You're not her husband, why do you care so much about her?"  
Erik glowered. "What do you care?"  
"So what, you're going to run off and go be with her then?"  
"It's not like that and you know it!" He looked away from her. "As soon as I get my things together, I'm leaving." He turned around and headed back up stairs.  
"You come back here, Erik Destler!" Celeste yelled. "You can't just run away from me! Do I mean so little to you?"  
Erik spun at the top of the stairs, turning to face her again, fuming. "No! You don't get to say that. You've been hiding something big from me, you, Raven, and Christine are all in on it, I know it! But obviously I'm not important enough to any of you for you to tell me! We fight constantly, and you think sex is better communication than actually talking! It's clear I'm not important to you! That I'm just some toy!"  
"Fuck you!" Celeste screamed.  
Erik slammed their bedroom door, leaving Celeste at the base of the stairs, feeling numb and broken.  
"Don't go." She whispered. "I love you."

After a few hours, Celeste made her way back upstairs, hoping that Erik had had some time to cool off. She opened the door nervously, and found Erik putting clothes into a bag.  
"I don't want to talk." Erik muttered.  
"I don't want to either." Celeste pushed him back onto the bed, straddling him. She kissed him deeply, pushing her hands up his shirt.  
"What are you doing?" He asked, resigned.  
"Communicating the best way I know how."  
Erik seemed to be too tired to fight her, and gave in.

Celeste awoke in a start the next morning, sitting up and realizing that she was in bed alone. She tried to get up, but her legs got tangled in the sheets and she toppled over into the wall.  
Someone knocked on the door. "Celeste, are you okay?"  
"Yeah," she called, popping her head up over the side of the bed, raising the blankets so she was decently covered.  
Christine stuck her head in. "You sure?"  
"I'm fine. Where's Erik?"  
"In town with the girls, why?"  
"No reason." She felt really stupid thinking he'd just up and leave like that. She sat on the bed when Christine left, putting her face in her hands.  
"Shit." She was head over heels in love with a man who could no longer stand the sight of her.  
What had she done?


	33. Chapter 33

Christine peered at Erik over the side of her mug, eyebrow raised.

"I always thought you and Celeste were unbreakable. You just seemed so... I don't know, but you seemed like nothing could touch you."

Erik ran a hand through his hair. "I thought so too. But I guess things just don't work out like that."

Christine sighed. "I'm not going to lie, I was so relieved when Celeste kissed you when she showed up. I just didn't want you to still be in love with me." She shrugged.

Erik nodded. "I'm a different person now, I hope you know that."

"Of course I do."

Erik leaned forward. "Christine, what is it you all have been hiding from me? I know you are."

Christine shook her head. "I can't tell you." Erik grit his teeth, but Christine cut him off before he could snap at her. "You're better off not knowing. There's no point in telling you now." Erik wanted to keep pressing her for more information, but Nicole entered the kitchen.

"My stuff is all packed." Nicole murmured.

"Alright." Erik stood. Christine grabbed his hand as he turned away.

"Please be safe out there. And you can always come back."

"Thank you, Christine." Erik glanced upstairs, but enough had already between the two of them. "If Celeste asks, just tell her I went out into town."

Erik set his bag on the bed of the room he had rented in a tavern just outside of Lyon. Nicole followed him in, looking around nervously.

"It's not much," Erik apologized, "and til we find your brother, it won't get much better than this."

"It's fine." Nicole brushed a piece of hair behind her ear. "There's only one bed though."

"I'll take the floor." Erik nodded.

"I can't let you do that." She murmured. Erik raised an eyebrow.

"There's no way you're sleeping on the floor."

"I guess so." She sat on the end of the bed, glancing around. "So... since we'll be traveling together, we should get to know each other a little better. Why don't you tell me a little about yourself?"

Erik rubbed the back of his neck. "There's not much to tell."

"There's got to be something," she pressed.

"Uh," he wasn't going to talk about OG, but he could just omit some of the gruesome details of his past. "I used to be a composer. I wrote an entire opera."

"Really?" Nicole's eyes went wide. "I saw my first opera when I came to France. I saw Faust at the Palais Garnier. It was beautiful. What was yours called, maybe I've seen it!"

"I doubt it. It was only ever performed once. It was Don Juan Triumphant."

"I haven't heard of it." She agreed. "But do you sing? Do you play any instruments?"

Erik chuckled. "I can play anything I put my mind to really. And I can sing. But all of that was a very long time ago." He had left music behind when he had left the Garnier.

"Can you sing for me?" She asked. Erik shook his head, but he was smiling.

"Sorry. I don't sing much anymore. Expect maybe to get Roxanne to go to sleep."

She twisted her mouth. "I'll get you to sing for me, you'll see."

"Okay." Erik accepted the bet. "So tell me about yourself, beyond the fire and and your parents."

"Oh, me?" She blushed. "I used to write, actually. All sorts of books about all kinds of things growing up. I was constantly writing in a journal, trying to get my ideas down as as fast as my brain would let me." She turned her gaze to the ground. "But my mother said it was unladylike, and forced me to stop."

"Tell me about something you wrote." Erik prodded.

"Oh, I can't. Nothing I wrote about was any good."

"I'll sing for you when you tell me about what you wrote."

"It's a deal." Nicole giggled.

Celeste leaned over the banister at the top of the stairs, watching the house activity continue, even without Erik. He had left and didn't tell anyone where he was going and that was that. She pulled her hair out of her face, tying it back with a black ribbon.

"Planning on moping all day?" Raven asked, standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"Shove off," Celeste stood straight, stretching her arms over her head.

"Unlikely." Raven started making her way upstairs, but she fell, swearing in pain.

"What's wrong with you?" Celeste asked, heading down a few steps to meet her halfway.

"Nothing," Celeste could see the beads of sweat on Raven's forehead, and the lack of color in her face.

"What happened?"

"It's nothing." Raven pulled herself up via the banister, but Celeste could tell Raven was favoring her left leg. Without asking again, Celeste pulled up Raven's skirts, revealing what was obviously a bite from the wolf that attacked her and Nicole. It was red and puffy.

"Jesus Christ," Celeste breathed. "Why didn't you say anything? It could be infected, it, we could have done something about it!"

Raven straightened up, jerking her skirts out of Celeste's hands. "You didn't see that wolf. It was foaming at the mouth, and wolves just don't attack people out of the blue. Damn thing was Rabid, and there's nothing I can do about it."

Celeste felt like a thousand ton weight had just been slammed into her chest. "So you're just going to die? Just like that."

Raven shrugged. "I've been dying for two years. I'll just be in the ground."


	34. Chapter 34

Over the next week, Erik and Nicole made their way up to Paris.  
"So what exactly is the plan? Where is your brother?" Erik asked, helping Nicole down from the horse.  
Nicole fished a letter out of her bag. "This was the last time I heard from my brother. He was in a flat in Tuscany. A few weeks ago I sent a letter to this address, but I never heard anything back. I thought we'd start here."  
Erik turned the letter over in his hands, noting that above the sender's address, Daren was just written with no last name. It was a little strange but he didn't think much of it. The letter read:  
Nicole,  
I've had to leave Spain, I can't really explain why, but it's vital no one knows where I am. I don't have to worry about Jonathan since he's in police custody right now, but I don't know how long that will last. Anyway, I hope you are well, and I miss you.  
Love, your favorite brother.  
"How old did you say Daren was?"  
"18."  
"What's he been doing all this time?" Erik asked. "Living on his own, I mean."  
"He worked for a man named Jerico." Nicole explained. "He sold and repaired books. Daren was obsessed with books. He had quite the collection when he lived at home. Obviously he's had to start over, but I'm sure that hasn't stopped him from hoarding every dusty book that he can get his hands on. In Spain, he lived with a roommate which was how he was able to afford a flat."  
"Why is now the first time you're looking for him?" He put his horse in one of the stables after he handed the letter back.  
"I was afraid of my mother. She made it very clear she didn't want anything to do with him anymore until he settled down with a wife. Obviously that's probably never going to happen."  
"I can imagine." He paid for their room and they headed for the room. "What's your plan once you find him?"  
She shrugged. "I don't know. Hopefully he doesn't hate me."  
"I'm sure he doesn't." Erik muttered. "He wouldn't have written you if he hated you. He probably just moved and hasn't been able to get ahold of you. I mean, the house you lived in did burn down, I imagine you haven't been receiving very many letters."  
"I suppose that's true." Nicole nodded in agreement. She thought for a moment, avoiding his eyes. "Erik, why did you want to go with me? You've only known me a few months. You've been with Celeste and the others for years." Her face was very red.  
"Celeste...we were just doomed from the start. It took us a long time to see that."

Erik left the tavern in search of something to eat, and he returned after about an hour with some food for the pair of them. He entered the bar of the tavern, fishing around for his room key in a pocket when he heard something from the direction of the bar.  
"Erik Destler. That can't be you."  
Erik looked up, suddenly alarmed. A man stood at the bar, one Erik hadn't seen in a long time.  
"Daroga." He breathed. The man standing in front of him was Nadir Khan, the chief of the Persian police. Erik was a fugitive in Persia and he had to return to France, where he was pursued by the Daroga. He and Nadir were long time friends, so Nadir didn't try very hard, put transferred to the Paris police when he got wind of Erik's antics at the opera house.  
"Jesus Christ." Nadir ran a hand through his black hair. "What in the blue hell are you doing here? And please tell me that you don't have anything to do with this missing persons case I'm working."  
Erik gaped at the other man, not sure what question he should answer first, since he had a sneaking suspicion that one was related to the other.  
"Who's the missing person?" Erik asked.  
"Nicole Garlan." At the look on Erik's face, Nadir placed his face in his hands, muttering several words in Persian that Erik recognized as Nadir calling him a jackass. "Where is she?"  
"Upstairs." Erik shrugged. "Who reported her as missing?"  
"I'll be the only one asking questions." Nadir didn't seem to know what to do with himself.  
"She's here of her own damn free will." Erik snapped. "You can talk to her yourself."  
Nadir raised an eyebrow, obviously skeptical, but finally he sighed and told Erik that he should lead the way, but not before he got a scotch from the bar. He unlocked the door to their room, where Nicole was sitting on the bed, reading.  
"You're back, who's that?"  
"Nicole, this is Nadir. Nadir, meet Nicole." Nicole waved and Nadir took a long drink from his glass. "He's a old friend, or something."  
"What...explain yourself. No one has seen you since the fire."  
"I thought everyone just assumed I was dead. That's what Celia said, anyway." Nicole muttered.  
"No. Only three bodies were found. And someone reported you missing, saying you escaped the fire."  
Nicole seemed to be rolling something around in her head. "Only three... Who reported me missing?!" She looked alarmed.  
"Jonathan Garcia."  
Nicole's face lost all color. "He can't know I'm here! No one can know."  
"Why?"  
"He's the one who started the fire." Erik explained.  
"He's dangerous. He hurt my brother, killed my parents and husband, and now he's after me!" She pressed a hand to her head.  
"It's okay," Erik said. "I won't let him go near you."  
"Erik, may I speak to you in private?"  
The two of them stepped into the hall.  
"What's going on here?" Nadir asked quietly.  
"Look, I used to be with...this woman, and we found Nicole after the fire. She's been staying with me ever since. She's looking for her brother, and things between me and this other woman didn't work out so I went with Nicole."  
Nadir nodded. "Alright. Do you plan on leaving Paris anytime soon?"  
"Preferably." Erik folded his arms.  
"Look, could you stay here in town, just for a little while? I want to check out the validity of Nicole's story, if Jonathan is really responsible for the deaths of three people."  
Erik grit his teeth. "By the sounds of it, I need to make sure Nicole is as far away from that fucker as humanly possible."  
Nadir sighed. "She'd be a lot safer if he's behind bars."  
He had a point. "I'll talk to Nicole. We'll stick around for as long as we can, but as soon as there's any trouble, we're gone. But I promise, Nicole is safe in my hands."  
Nadir swirled the brandy in his glass, looking completely done with the entire situation. "I hope you're right. I'm trusting you because you're my friend, but if I think you're harming her, I'll have the entire Paris police force up your ass."  
"Thanks." Erik said.  
"What?"  
"I'd be disappointed if you didn't have her upmost safety in mind."  
Nadir cocked his head. "You care about her a lot, don't you?"  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Erik demanded. "Of course I do."  
"Erik. Be careful with her."


	35. Chapter 35

A month passed since Erik left, and although the house functioned normally, nothing felt the same. Erik was right when he had said that this place could work without him, but Celeste knew that nothing was as it should be. But there was nothing she could do about it. She was the one who messed up. And with everyday that passed, she was a day closer to losing her best friend. Raven was getting sicker, and there wasn't anything anyone could do about it. Christine was still angry with Celeste, and once Raven was gone she would have no one. She honestly just wanted to find a nice quiet hole and die. She wished more than ever that two years ago her execution would have been successful and people would remember her like that, instead of the awful, selfish person she had become.  
When her husband died, she erected high walls around herself, trying to block out the person she'd been before, dedicating herself to helping those in need and only indulging her needs in the form of the occasional one night stand and her weekly card games. But then Erik barged into her life in the form of a stolen apple and a sword fight. He began chipping away at the walls that had made her a better person. Now, they were in shambles at her feet, and she didn't like the person they now exposed.  
Celeste opened the closet in the living room where Erik had hid that damn gun. She picked it up, a long with the remaining bullets Erik left behind. She loaded the gun and headed outside.  
"I guess I am going crazy." Celeste muttered, putting the butt of the gun against her shoulder, taking aim at a tree. She squeezed the trigger, and for the first time in her life, she shot a gun. The bullet exploded from the rifle and shredded the bark on the tree next to the one she was aiming for. She lowered the muzzle, feeling nothing. Angrily, she loaded another bullet, taking aim, and firing again. The grass shot up and showered dirt on the forest floor. She continued til her fistful of bullets was used up. She stormed back inside, still angry, and returned with her old epee. The steel of the blade shone in the moonlight, and she held her sword in proper fencing manner, going through the motions of a few basic moves. She slid back into the role of dueler, and she closed her eyes, reliving some of the fights she had experienced back in Paris. Her mind wandered back to Erik, and their anger fueled duels that were started by them bickering at each other. She swung the blade around, digging it into the soft bark of the nearest tree before jerking it back out, taking a piece of wood with it.  
Her anger had ebbed away, and she felt a little better about the whole shitty situation.  
"What the fuck are you doing out here?" Raven appeared on the porch, arm's folded. She swayed and had to brace herself on the banister.  
"Venting." Celeste kicked the rifle, sheathing her epee.  
"Feel better?"  
"Eh." Celeste sat on the porch steps, and Raven just about collapsed onto the stairs. "Raven, do you remember the person I was before Erik?"  
"Yeah. You were a piece of shit." Raven shrugged.  
"Excuse me."  
"You were stiff all the time, so serious about everything. And you were kinda mean. Now...you've opened up a lot. You're still a piece of shit."  
"Asshole." Celeste muttered, but she was smiling. She could always count on Raven to be truthful.  
"Erik hasn't changed you though. No man is that powerful. You changed yourself."  
"Thanks, Raven." That actually made her feel worse. She couldn't have the luxury of blaming Erik for how fucked up she was.  
"What's that?" Raven squinted, looking at something in the distance. "There's lights at the end of the path."  
She was right, on the path leading to the house, Celeste could see the flickering light of torches.  
"Either that's an angry mob, looking for Frankenstein, or that's police." Celeste said, standing.  
"Or you're just paranoid." Raven muttered. "Who would sic police on us?"  
"Probably one of the many people who doesn't like me. Her mind shuffles through all the possibilities. The first thought was Moubray, and then Jason Gray."  
"Come on," As the group got closer, Celeste was confident enough to call a house evacuation. "POLICE! EVERYONE OUT! THROUGH THE BACK WOODS, HURRY!"  
She ran from room to room, trying to make sure she got everyone. Christine came running downstairs, holding Roxanne's hand.  
"Celeste?! What's happening?"  
"Police." Celeste gasped, "Take the kids and head east into the forest! Tell everyone you can!"  
The police had began to bang on the doors once Raven and Celeste felt confident that everyone was out of the house and they left.  
"You go!" Celeste hissed, climbing up into a tree that was about fifty feet from the back door. She had to make sure the police weren't going to follow the others.  
"No, I'm staying!" Raven climbed up behind her.  
"Stubborn bitch!" Celeste muttered. They settled onto their respective branches and waited for the police to show their faces.  
"Sir, there's no sign of anyone!"  
"Sweep the forest. They must have taken the child and hidden there."  
"Child?" Raven whispered.  
"No shooting blindly into the trees either. The boy must be brought back to his mother in one piece."  
There was angry grumbling from the other officers, but they began to search the forest. To the west.  
"They must be taking about Raydon. Celia you piece of shit." Celeste spat.  
"What are we going to do? They're going to-" Raven wavered and fell out of the tree, hitting the ground with a loud and sickening thump. Celeste pressed a hand to her mouth, trying not to call out for Raven. The sound was not enough to draw the attention of the police, so Celeste dropped to the ground, and Celeste could hear Raven's labored breathing, her breath rattling in her chest.  
Celeste shook her shoulder and Raven pushed herself to her knees. Celeste clamped a hand over her mouth and pulled her around the tree out of view of the house. A few more officers had come running out of the house, apparently not as deaf as their companions. Raven went limp in Celeste's arms, her skin turning icy cold.  
"Stay with me, Raven," Celeste hissed, her breath dissolving into mist.  
"What was that?" Said a male voice.  
"Celeste," Raven rasped. "Let me go."  
"No, and keep quiet."  
"She's here, Celeste, she's come back for me." Raven whispered, and Celeste felt the tears running down Raven's face.  
"Who?"  
"Celeste, please, let me go and draw them away from the others." Raven let out a long breath, fog streaming from her lips. "Let me go."  
The voices of the police drew nearer. Raven's head fell back onto Celeste's shoulder. Celeste cursed loudly, moving Raven off her, standing and moving around the tree.  
"I'm here, monsieurs, yes, I'm here, keep walking this way!" She yelled, spreading her arms.

Celeste's boots pounded on the forest floor as the yells of the police pursued her. She pushed herself forward, her legs burning with pain. She didn't know how long she had been running, but she only hoped she had lured them far away from the others. She looked back to see if anyone was still following her, and suddenly the ground disappeared beneath her feet. She was tumbling down, and a sharp pain to the head sent her spiraling into unconsciousness.

Celeste's eyes flickered open as she slowly regained consciousness. For a moment she thought it was snowing, but when she looked closer it was just the pieces of broken, dead leaves drifting in the wind. Morning had come. Celeste felt like a ghost as she raised herself to her feet, looking around the dried ravine she had fallen into. She dearly hoped that Christine had gotten the children away, and Raven… Raven…  
Celeste clambered up the edge of the ravine, gripping weeds to haul her tired and heavy body over the edge. Celeste walked slowly through the forest, feeling dead and cold inside. As she approached the house, she hoped beyond hope that she wouldn't find her best friend, crumpled and broken at the base of a tree.  
People describe the faces on dead loved ones like they're sleeping, but it couldn't be farther from the truth. Raven's face, once full of life and radiant, was pale and limp, her jaw hanging slightly open, her head lolling onto her shoulder.  
Raven's black curls framed face, and in the early morning light, she looked like a fallen angel. The light that shone through the trees mocked the deep, dark pit forming in Celeste's chest. Celeste fell to her knees, not bothering to stem the tears that flowed down her cold cheeks. She rested her head on Raven's chest as though hoping for a heartbeat to fight its way through to Celeste's ears. Carefully, Celeste pulled the body of her best friend into her arms, burying her face in Raven's thick silky hair. Her eyes opened up like storm clouds, and she screamed in frustration and anger, blaming some god somewhere for taking Raven away from her. But she knew there was only one person to blame.  
"This is my fault. This is all my fault."

Celeste didn't know where her people went, where Christine could possibly be, where she took the children, all she could hope for was their safety.


	36. Chapter 36

"Do you have any idea of what you want to name the baby?" Erik asked running the razor over his chin. Nicole was in the other room, while Erik shaved in the bathroom.  
"I don't know," she called back. "All the ideas I've come up with are dumb."  
"Try me."  
She took a breath. "Ysabeau if it's a girl, Jacques if it's a boy."  
"Those aren't dumb," Erik wiped his face clean (plus mask) and went into the other room to retrieve a new shirt. Since being with Celeste, he didn't really care about walking around shirtless, though apparently Nicole cared. She would turn her face away, her cheeks red. Erik shrugged it off and pulled a shirt out of his bag. They had been stuck in the place for nearly a month, waiting for Daroga to do whatever he was planning on doing.  
"Maybe we should wait on finding your brother." Erik suggested, once he was fully dressed.  
"Why?"  
"Is it a good idea for you to be traveling, especially now you're in your third trimester." Erik said.  
"The baby is a lot easier to carry around like this." Nicole pointed out. "I'll be fine. We still have a month or so, anyway."  
"Alright." Erik shrugged.  
"Is there another reason you might be asking?" Nicole asked.  
"What other-" he was cut off by a knock at the door. He opened it to discover Nadir standing there, holding a few files.  
"Morning." He said. "May I come in? I've got some information."  
"Of course." Erik stepped aside and Nadir took a seat in one of the armchairs.  
"Is this about Jonathan?"  
"Yes. And your brother actually."  
"Daren?"  
"Yes. Both Jonathan and Daren are wanted for indecency in Spain." Nadir read the police file. "A coworker found Daren in the street, badly injured. Daren never filed a police report, it was the coworker and his roommate. When questioned, Daren said that Jonathan robbed and attacked him. But when Jonathan was taken in for questioning, he confessed to..." Nadir grimaced. "To assaulting Daren, in a...sexual manner."  
Nicole pressed her hands to her mouth, looking horrified.  
"Anyway, the police didn't believe him at first and let Daren go, but when they decided to take Jonathan seriously, Daren was gone. There was no record of him leaving the country, he just vanished."  
"What's the sentence for sleeping with another man?"  
"Anywhere from five to 20 years, depending on the judge." Nadir said. "As long as Daren was out of the picture, he made a deal with the police to help locate him."  
"But instead, Jonathan wanted to find me." Nicole ran her fingers through her hair. "Jesus Christ."  
"Right now I can't technically charge him with anything since there isn't enough proof that he killed your parents, and I can't question him, because you, Erik, won't let me bring him in since that could alert him to Nicole still being alive."  
"Bring him in." Nicole muttered. "Question him."  
"What?" Erik asked. "But you said-"  
"Erik, he's hurt my entire family. I won't let what he did to Daren and my husband just be swept under the rug because I'm scared." She looked up at him, her soft brown eyes shining. "Besides. I have you."  
Nadir looked between the two of them. "I'll go talk to him then."  
"Thanks." They bid Nadir goodbye, and Nicole sat solemnly at the end of her bed, arms folded, staring angrily at the floor.  
"Are you okay?"  
"I wish I had never gotten involved with Jonathan. I was so desperate for love, for an escape from my mother, I started courting him." She ran a hand over her face. "And now I'm in this damn mess." She set a hand on her distended belly. "Erik, what if I'm a bad mother? What if I become controlling and harsh, just like Mae, and..."  
He sat next to her, putting and arm around her shoulders. "You're going to be a wonderful mother."  
"How do you know?"  
"Because you're concerned about being an awful parent. That shows you care."  
"I guess so." She smiled. "You don't have kids, right?"  
"God I hope not." He wouldn't be doing any child any favors by being its father. He knew he would be a terrible father.  
"Shame." She yawned.  
Someone knocked on the door again, turning out to be Nadir.  
"I was going to get some drinks at the bar." Nadir muttered. "Care to join me?"  
"It's a little early for a drink,"  
"When it comes to you, my old friend, it's never too early."  
Erik had no response, so he turned to Nicole. "Will you be alright without me?" When she nodded, he followed Nadir downstairs.  
"So. I didn't know black was your color." Nadir indicated the black leather mask Celeste had made for him.  
"I guess it is now." Erik shrugged. "That woman I was with made it for me."  
"Tell me about this woman." Nadir pried. "You've mentioned her a couple times."  
"Her name is Celeste. I met her after I left the opera house. She had this group of homeless people she took care of, protecting them, making sure they were fed. She was...something else. I never met a woman before who could kick my ass." Erik sighed.  
"What happened with her?"  
"We were together for two years but we just...drifted apart." He took a sip of his drink.  
"And by drifted apart, you don't mean dead in a ditch, right?"  
Erik punched him in the shoulder. "I have no idea where she is now. And it's probably for the best."  
Nadir was silent for a few minutes. "I'm honestly surprised at you. I've never seen you act like a normal human when it came to women. You generally don't let them go without kicking and screaming."  
"Oh there was kicking and screaming. From both of us. And lots of angry sex." Erik muttered. "But when I realized she could never really love me, I left with Nicole."  
"What do you mean?"  
"Celeste has...trouble with emotions. She did her best to wall herself off from them." Erik scowled into his drink. "I'm tired of loving people who don't love me back. But I suppose it's what I deserve."  
"It's not up to us to figure out what we deserve." Nadir shrugged.  
"I've done enough shitty things to have a good enough idea of exactly what I deserve."  
Nadir chuckled. "I've missed you."  
"Cheers."

Erik made his way back upstairs, now buzzed from the excursion with Nadir. He reached for the door handle and heard something behind the door.  
"No! Stop!" He heard Nicole yell. Without hesitation, he slammed the door open, driving his shoulder into the door. A man about ten years his junior had Nicole pinned down on the floor while she fought him. Erik grabbed the man by the back of his shirt, pulling him off Nicole. Erik grabbed the man, who he knew was Jonathan, by the throats and slammed him against the wall.  
"I don't ever want to see your fucking face around here again." Erik fought the urge to squeeze the life out of Jonathan as he gasped for breath and kicked and struggled. "Or I will kill you. Stay away from her." He released Jonathan, who fell to the floor, coughing and spluttering.  
"You *cough* don't understand!" He wheezed. "That's my baby, I don't know who you-" His head whipped around as Erik's boot connected with the side of his face.  
"I won't tell you again." Erik snarled.  
Jonathan stood, heading for the door, rubbing his neck, which was thoroughly bruised. "This won't be the last you hear from me."  
"It better be." Erik slammed the door. "Are you okay?" He went to Nicole's side. He expected her to look up at him in fear, expecting her to recoil. Instead she stared at him with tear filled eyes, wrapping her arms around his neck. He rubbed her back, holding her close. He picked her up, setting her on the bed, still holding her.  
"Is the baby okay?" He asked gently. She nodded into his shoulder. He held her for a few minutes while she calmed down. She pulled away from him, rubbing her eyes.  
"I'm sorry."  
"Don't be." Erik assured her. "I was scared too."  
She put a hand on his face, her chest heaving. "Erik..." The tears started again. "God, I could never see him again and it would be too soon." She turned her face away, sniffling. "When he barged into the room, all I could see was him standing there, threatening me with that fire poker. I just..." She began hyperventilating, grabbing fistfuls of her hair.  
Erik pulled her to his chest, trying to calm her down. He did the only thing he could think of. He started singing.  
_"No more talk of darkness  
Forget these wide-eyed fears  
I'm here, nothing can harm you  
My words will warm and calm you  
Let me be your freedom  
Let daylight dry your tears  
I'm here, with you, beside you  
To guard you and to guide you  
Let me be your shelter  
Let me be your light  
You're safe, no one will find you  
Your fears are far behind you," _  
She stayed nestled up under his chin while her breathing evened out, her arms wrapped around his torso. Finally she calmed down, and she pulled away slightly. "Erik, I just I..." And suddenly, without warning, she was kissing him.


	37. Chapter 37

Erik wasn't sure if it was the buzz of the alcohol or his lack of human affection, Erik responded to Nicole's kiss, taking her face in his hands and kissing her tenderly. When he found himself picturing Celeste's face in his mind's eye, he pulled back.  
Her eyes widened in shock, and she pressed her hands to her mouth. "I-I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me, oh god,"  
Erik stood, hand over his mouth. "I...I didn't know that's how you felt." Suddenly all the blushing she did around him make sense.  
"Shit." Nicole swore. "I-" Erik put a hand on the back of her head, pulling her back for another kiss. He really wasn't sure what he was thinking, other than that all he cared about was that Nicole was happy. He was no longer obligated to Celeste, even if he was still in love with her. But if someone as kind and loving has enough in her heart to have feelings for him, he would let her. He didn't have it in him to break her heart. She was probably only 25, 26, making him nearly 8-9 years older than her, but she was an adult who could make her own decisions.  
"Erik," she said breathlessly. He put a hand on her face, running his thumb over her cheek. He didn't know what he wanted to say, so for now, he just held her, and she sighed contentedly into his chest.  
Once he finally was able to make sense of his thoughts, which were still really scrambled, he looked down at her. "How long have you felt this way?"  
"Since I told you about the fire."  
That had been several months ago.  
"I had no idea."  
"I know." She blushes again. "I just... I felt so awful because you were with Celeste..."  
"Nicole, just know...I'm not an easy person to be with." Erik explained. "I can't get married since I'm technically a dead man, and I have been through so many things you don't know about." These things had been easy to tell Celeste since she too had a fair amount of skeletons in the closet.  
"You're dead?"  
"As far as the law is concerned, yes." He didn't want to scare her off, but if she had feelings for him, she should understand who he was. He stood up, pointing to his face. "You've never even seen me without the mask."  
Nicole considered this for a few moments. "Then take it off."  
"It's not that simple. But if you want..." Nervously, he pulled off the mask. "This is who I am."  
Her eyes went wide. "It's not that bad." She squeaked. Erik raised an eyebrow. "Alright, it's pretty bad, but," she stood, grabbing his hands. "You have treated me with nothing but kindness and respect. And how you defended me just now...nothing about my life is normal. Why should this be?"  
Erik sighed, kissing her forehead. "You're adorable." He placed the mask back over his face.  
This was the last thing he would have expected to happen, but it certainly wasn't the worst thing. If being with him is what makes her happy, then he would do everything he could to keep her that way.

Erik opened his eyes, sunlight shining on his face from the window. Nicole had curled up on his chest, and he took a few moments appreciating her being there. Celeste never really cuddled with him. His mind was still spinning with the events of yesterday. But since he and Nicole had decided to take this path, they had a few options of where things could go. But first, he had to go see Daroga about Jonathan. He would have done it last night, but Nicole was too afraid to leave the tavern, and didn't want Erik to leave her alone. He doubted that Jonathan would be dumb enough to come up here again. Erik detangled himself from Nicole, leaving her a note before heading to Nadir's flat. It was too dangerous to try and meet him at the police station, so Erik hoped it was early enough that he hadn't left his house yet.  
Erik tapped on the door of Nadir's flat, looking around nervously, and was extremely relieved when he came to the door.  
"It's early, Erik, what is it?" He lit a cigarette in irritation.  
"It's Jonathan." Erik said. "He attacked Nicole."  
"Is she okay?!" Nadir asked, suddenly worried.  
"She's no worse for wear, but if you see Jonathan again and he's had the shit beat out of him, you know what happened."  
Nadir ran a hand through his hair. "What are you going to do?"  
"I'm going to take Nicole as far away from here as I can." Erik said. "If you need her for your investigation, get it out of her in the next few days, since in the next week we're leaving."  
"I understand." Nadir nodded. "Just let me know before you leave."  
Erik nodded. "I will."  
"Would Nicole be willing to come in and answer questions about the attack?"  
"I don't think she'll be pressing charges." Erik muttered. "And I fucked him up really bad. So I think this time we'll call it even."  
"But it might make a stronger case against Jonathan if it was on record that he stalked and attacked her."  
"I don't really care about the logistics and legalities of this." Erik admitted. "If I see him around Nicole again, I'll kill him. Simple as that."  
Nadir blinked. "Well if I find Jonathan's body in a ditch, I'll know who to find."  
"Can't charge a dead man with murder."  
"Yeah I noticed that," Nadir took a long drag on the cigarette. "Your file has the big red DECEASED stamp on it. Says you were killed by Celeste Hadage, who is supposed to be dead too. Executed three years ago."  
"Hanging by the neck doesn't always work." Erik murmured.  
"I'll be sure to pass that along to my supervisors." Nadir inclined his head. "I have to get ready for work, but I'll drag Jonathan's ass into the station and make him sweat a little."  
"Thanks."


	38. Chapter 38

Almost two months since Erik had walked out of Celeste's life passed, almost a month after she had left the house. She had returned to Paris, which was the only other place she considered home. She wondered if she might find Christine here. Even though Christine didn't exactly approve of Celeste's choices, she was the closest thing Celeste had to a friend now. But she had no idea where Christine was. She had no idea what she was supposed to do with her life. She was lost.  
Celeste ran her fingers across one of the broken wood burning ovens that has been out of use for a long time in the bakery where she had first gathered her people. When she had kept them all safe. Before she met Erik. When she was still whole.  
She closed her eyes, inhaling the scent of the old, rotted wood that was so familiar to her. In her mind's eye, she could see Raven sitting in the corner, reading, with Devynn sitting next her. She could see Raydon, playing with some of the other children that would come through here. She could feel the warmth from the stoves they would use in the winter to keep warm. When she opened her eyes, the memories faded, and the cold crept back in.  
She left the bakery, pulling up the hood on her cloak. She went across the street to a tavern she knew so well.  
When she walked in, she recognized no one, and this made her happy. She joined a card game seamlessly, using what little money she had to buy herself into the game.  
A few hands in, she spotted a man at the bar, who was watching her. Curious, she folded and said she was going to the bar for drinks.  
"Who are you and why are you watching me?" Celeste said, once she had ordered a beer on someone else's tab.  
The man cleared his threat. "I'm a friend of a friend." He held out his hand. "Nadir Khan."  
"Celeste." She murmured, accepting his handshake. "Whose friend are you?"  
"Erik's."  
She paused, wondering how dangerous this man could be.  
"Erik left Paris only a few days ago." Nadir muttered. "He told me a lot about you."  
"Like what? And how do you know me?"  
"A woman who dresses like a man isn't that hard to spot. And I've seen a drawing of you from your police file, though your hair was shorter then."  
"Are you police?" Celeste hissed, prepared to run for it.  
"Yes, but I'm a friend of Erik's. How bad could I be?"  
That was true. "What do you want?"  
"Erik is still madly in love with you, I hope you know that."  
"He left me. I don't owe him anything." Celeste snapped.  
Nadir shrugged. "Just passing along the message. He's headed for Italy." He winked and left the bar, leaving Celeste confused and conflicted.

Erik brought the horse to a slow trot in front of the church. Night was falling and this was the only place he had seen in miles.  
"Think they'll let us stay for the night?" Erik asked.  
Nicole shrugged. "I have no idea."  
"Can't hurt to try." Erik dismounted. "Let's hope I don't burst into flames."  
Nicole giggled. "I hope not."  
Erik left her there and knocked on the big wooden doors, waiting for a response. A mousy woman came to the door, one Erik didn't expect. Her brown hair was pulled back into a bun, and she wore an elegant green gown.  
"Hello?" She asked. "The priest is away right now, but I'm sure I can help."  
"My...my wife and I need a place to stay for the night. Would it be alright if we stay here?"  
"I'm sure it won't be a problem." The woman stepped aside, and Erik called Nicole over.  
"Where are you two headed?" The woman asked.  
"Italy." Nicole supplied, pulling off her cloak and looking around. The main room of the church was decorated as though for a wedding, with white and red ribbons everywhere as long with roses.  
"Who's getting married?" Erik asked.  
"I am." The woman muttered. "I'm just going over all the small details." She wrung her hands nervously. "I've been putting off the stupid wedding for years and now I'm getting married tomorrow," she shook her head.  
"Don't be so nervous. I'm sure it's going to be a beautiful wedding." Nicole assured her.  
"Mm." She looked around. "I just wish my brother was here. He died a few years ago, which was the reason I kept pushing the wedding out. I wanted him to be there."  
Nicole surprised the other woman with a warm hug.  
"He'll be here in spirit."  
"Thanks."  
"What's your name?"  
"Simone. What's yours?"  
"Nicole. And this is Erik."  
"It's a pleasure to meet you both." She nodded to them. "I'll show you guys where you can sleep."  
She took them to a back room, which had a couple beds with ratty old blankets.  
"It's not much, but it will do."  
"Thank you." Nicole nodded to her.

That night they got little sleep, but when the sun came up the next day, they headed out again. They passed a little town around noon, where they got food and supplies. After that, they saw very little signs of life in the thick wooded area.  
Nicole's arms tightened around Erik's torso suddenly, and he glanced back at her.  
"Nic, are you okay?" Erik asked.  
"I think so." She murmured, her face buried into his cloak. He pulled on the horse's reins, bringing it to a slow walk.  
"Here." Erik hopped down and held out a hand to help her. "Lets walk for a bit, let you stretch you legs."  
She nodded, accepting his hand. They walked next to the horse for a while.  
"Erik," she muttered. "What are we going to do when we get to Italy?"  
"I don't know." Erik admitted. "I'm sure we'll figure something- Nicole?"  
She stopped suddenly, one hand on her stomach, the other on her forehead.  
"I don't feel so good."  
"What's wrong?" Erik asked, suddenly panicked.  
"I think I'm having contractions." She said, alarmed. "Erik, oh god."  
Erik froze up. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know what to think. They were miles away from the nearest town and he had absolutely no idea how to deliver a baby, especially not in the middle of the woods.  
"Come on," Erik swung back up onto the horse, his now sweaty palms slipping on the reins. He helped her up. "We'll find help."  
"Where?" She mounted the horse behind him."  
"Somewhere."


	39. Chapter 39

Erik urged the horse to go faster. Night had fallen now and he had no idea where he was. It was clear time was not on their side as Nicole's moans of pain became more frequent and consistent. He needed to find help. He pulled the horse to a sudden stop when he saw the lights of a house of a path. He pulled on the reins to turn the horse and headed down the path. He prayed someone inside would be able to help.  
"Wait here." He reached up and cupped Nicole's face with a tender hand. She nodded, and he could feel the sweat and tears on her face. He walked up to the front door and pounded on the wood. A girl around 20 answered the door.  
"Yes, monsieur?" She squeaked.  
"I need help," Erik gasped, "please my-"  
"Jessica, who's at the door?"  
An elderly woman stepped into view. Lines crisscrossed her face, and her hair was nearly white, but she was unmistakable for who she was.  
"Madeleine?" Erik asked, at the same time she gasped:  
"Erik?"  
The two stared at each other, son and mother unexpectedly reunited. When Nicole moaned in pain, it jerked Erik back to his senses.  
"Who's that?" Madeleine asked, cocking her head.  
"Please, I need your help. She's in labor and I don't know what to do."  
She considered him for a moment before waving her hand. "Bring her in."  
Erik tied the reins of his horse to a tree before pulling Nicole down from the saddle, bringing her in to the little cottage.  
"Bring her in here." She led Erik to a back room with a small bed. Erik set Nicole down gently, rubbing her forehead and trying to say words of comfort.  
"Everything is going to be fine." He assured her. "I promise I won't let anything happen to you."  
She nodded, but she looked absolutely terrified. He kissed her forehead, trying to think of something to say that would make her less scared.  
"Think of little Jacques or Ysabeau. In a few hours you'll be a mother."  
"I suppose." She smiled a little.  
Madeleine cleared her throat in the door frame. Erik knew Madeleine probably want some explanation for everything.  
"Hold on a minute." Erik muttered. "I'm going to have a word with my mother."  
"Your mother?" Nicole demanded.  
"Yeah." He squeezed her shoulder. "I'll be back."  
He pulled Madeleine aside into the hallway.  
"What is it you want to know?"  
"Is she... your wife?" Madeleine bit her lip.  
"No. She's just someone who loves me...for some reason." Erik rubbed the back of his neck.  
"And the baby?"  
"It's not mine. She was married before, but her husband died."  
Madeleine nodded slowly. "What have you been doing all these years?"  
"Ever heard of the Opera Ghost?"  
"That guy who burned down an opera house in Paris?"  
"Yeah. Just look up information on that guy and you'll get some answers."  
"Jesus Christ."  
Nicole moaned in pain again, and Erik went back to her side, forgetting his mother.  
"How long have you been having contractions, dear?" Madeleine asked, coming up behind Erik.  
"Around two hours." Nicole said.  
"Well if you can get to sleep, you should. You're in for a rough night."  
"I'll try."

Erik paced out in the garden, trying to find some sense of calm. Nicole had managed to fall asleep, and Erik had taken the opportunity to get some fresh air. He was suddenly overwhelmed by everything that was happening. Nicole's baby always seemed like an abstract concept, but now... When Erik had let Nicole love him, her baby came with her. Was he suddenly supposed to become a father? He wasn't going to abandon her even though she deserved someone better. But she had no one else, except possibly her brother, but they weren't 100% sure where he even was. Erik ran his fingers through his hair, frustrated, confused, and scared.  
He looked up when he heard the distant sound of hoof beats. Someone was coming down the road, and it was a few hours after midnight, so no one decent should be awake at this hour. Erik's mind jumped to Jonathan, and he walked up the path slowly, staying in the trees so he was out of sight of the road. The rider saw the lights of the house and slowed down, jumping down from their mount. The person appeared male, was tall and slender, but whoever it was had long dark hair.  
"Celeste?" Erik stepped out of the trees.  
"Erik!" She ran over to him, abandoning her horse. She wrapped her arms around his neck and brought her face up for a kiss, but Erik pulled back.  
"Erik," she patted his shoulders awkwardly. "I uh..."  
He grabbed her hands, pulling her into his arms and holding her tight. "It's good to see you. How did you find me?"  
"It's not hard to find a man in a mask." Celeste muttered. "And your friend Nadir found me, told me where you were going."  
Erik sighed, drinking in her familiar scent.  
"Where's Nicole?"  
"She's in the house," Erik murmured. "She went into labor several hours ago."  
"Is she okay?"  
"She's scared." Erik ran a hand through his hair. "Come on inside, it's cold out here. Just to warn you...this is my mother's house."  
Celeste raised her eyebrows. "Your mother?!"  
"Yeah. I had no idea, but Nicole didn't have any choice."  
"Alright, lets go in then."

Back in the house, Madeleine had left Nicole's room for a moment, and she spotted Celeste.  
"Mind introducing me?" She folded her arms. "I thought you were with Nicole."  
Erik's face burned red under the mask.  
"This is Celeste, she's an old friend. And when did you care about the company I keep, mother?"  
She pursed her lips, at a loss for words. Finally she said. "Nicole's awake. She's asking for you."  
"Tell her I'll be in soon."  
"Okay?"  
"So, you and Nicole?" Celeste said quietly.  
"It's complicated. You certainly have no right to be angry. We were over."  
"Because you walked out." Celeste shook her head. "But I digress. If she makes you happy."  
Erik was in an impossible situation, sitting between the woman he was still helplessly in love with, and the woman who was hopelessly in love with him. He cared about Nicole, and she needed him more.  
"Celeste," he put a hand on the back of her head. "It's not...I'm not..."  
"I get it, it's okay." Celeste stood up, folding her arms. "Go, be with her."  
Erik wanted to stay, but he left anyway, going back into the room where Nicole was. Her face was dripping with sweat and he could tell she was in a lot of pain. He grabbed her hand, trying to provide some comfort.  
"How are you doing, love?"  
"How do you think?" She breathed.  
"Not good I'm sure." He looked to Madeleine. "How much longer do you think it will be?"  
"Not long, Erik."  
Nicole groaned and sat up higher on the bed. "I just want this to be over."  
"It will be." He promised.  
A few more hours passed before Nicole finally gave birth to not one, but two baby boys.  
"What's his name?" Erik asked, holding the second born child, who had a mess of dark brown hair on his head. Jacques was currently being bounced by Madeleine, who had a tenderness on her face Erik was not at all familiar with. She had never looked at Erik like that.  
"Jamie." Nicole murmured. Obviously exhausted, she was lying back on the pillows, eyes closed.  
"They're beautiful." Erik murmured. Jamie was sleeping soundly in his arms. He had never really been this close to a baby, and he was so afraid that this fragile creature would break in his arms. "Twins, I just never thought."  
"It's hard to tell sometimes." Madeleine said. "And if she didn't see a doctor during the third trimester then she never would have known til now."  
"Do they look anything like their father at all, Nicole?" He turned around.

"Nicole?"


	40. Chapter 40

"It's my fault, I know that somehow it's my fault,"  
"Erik you couldn't have stopped it." Celeste said, running a hand over his back. "There was nothing that could have stopped this from happening."  
"I promised I would protect her, Celeste," Erik's voice cracked. "I promised."  
"You can't protect her from nature, from God."  
"I though you weren't religious."  
"Just shut up and come here." She wrapped her arms around him. Erik gripped tightly to Celeste, grateful she was here, really here for him.  
"It's not your fault, Erik."  
He couldn't say anything.  
"Erik, Celeste hesitated. "I know this isn't the best time to tell you, but I suppose it's better now than later." She took a deep breath. "Raven died,"  
"How? What happened?!" He demanded.  
"She was bit by that wolf that attacked her and Nicole. She got an infection.  
Erik closed his eyes. "And what about everyone else?"  
"I don't know. There was a raid on the house after you left, by the police, and I was separated from the others when I led them away from the house. I think Christine has the children, as for the others," She spread her hands. "I can only hope they are safe."  
Erik sighed, running a hand over his eyes.  
"What now?" Celeste asked quietly.  
"You're the one with the plan, what do I know?" Erik demanded, his voice hysterical.  
"Erik,"  
"I don't know what to do, and maybe if I had done everything differently, things wouldn't have gone this badly."  
"Erik,"  
"And Devynn, Raven, and Nicole would all be alive, they are dead because of me,"  
"Erik!" But it wasn't Celeste who spoke. They both swiveled their heads around to look at Madeleine, who was standing at the head of the hallway, her arms folded. "You can't change the past and you can't dread on what will happen, you can only look forward." She sighed. "Now the real question is what we are going to do with those children. Their mother is dead, and it's up to us to figure out what's best for them."  
Erik was amazed how stony Madeleine had remained through the entire ordeal, and he supposed she had years of hiding her feelings, like how she had hidden them from Erik.  
She shook her head, her hard exterior softening. "I never thought I'd see you like this,"  
"Like what?" Erik demanded. Celeste placed a comforting hand on his arm.  
"Just like this," She nodded to them and turned back into the bedroom behind her.  
"What are we going to do about the twins?" Celeste asked.  
"Why are you asking me? Remember, you're the one with the plans."  
"But you had a plan for Nicole, right?"  
Erik sighed, looking over at her.  
"Find lher brother, are you saying we should do the same with Jacques and Jamie?"  
"I don't know, what do you think?" Celeste mused, squeezing his shoulder. She was so different. She wasn't the fiery lioness he had first dueled. She had the same strength and will, but she almost seemed softer around the edges, like a wall had been torn down around her, revealing a side Erik has never seen.  
"I think, I'll take them to her brother," Erik said.  
"What if he won't take them?"  
Erik was taken aback. "What?"  
"Well, you have to have a backup. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best."  
This was the Celeste he knew. Always glass-half-empty.  
"I don't know what to do then." Erik muttered. "The plan has just been get her to Daren, nothing else,"  
"You need to step outside your comfort zone, Erik. You can't just stick to one plan, that is when things go wrong." She sighed, looking down.  
"I can't think about anything other than that I killed Nicole, Celeste, I'm all out of ideas." Erik said hoarsely.  
"Please just tell me what to do,"  
Celeste looked up at him, her head still bowed, her short hair hanging around her face.  
"Let's find Daren, then we will decide what to do from then."


	41. Chapter 41

Erik, your turn," Celeste murmured, shaking Erik's shoulder sleepily as though he wasn't already awake.  
"I just dealt with them." Erik said blearily, stuffing a pillow on top of his head to block out the crying of the twins from the next room.  
"Erik," Celeste kicked him.  
"No," Erik growled.  
"Fine," Celeste stood up, rubbing her eyes blearily. "Damn, this reminds me of when Alec was born."  
Erik lifted his head and looked at her. This was the first time Erik had ever heard Celeste mention her son outside of her telling Erik of his death. She didn't seem to notice as she left the room.  
Erik stood, lighting the gas lamp beside the bed before following her out of the room. He took one of the twins from her. The children were identical, with dark brown and their mother's brown eyes, and Erik didn't know whether he had Jamie or Jacques. Celeste was able to tell them apart though. She yawned widely as she patted the twin she held on the back, trying to soothe him. He and Celeste weren't exactly back together, but they weren't deprecated either. Erik wasn't proud of the fact that they'd slept together a couple of times in the time when they could actually get the twins to sleep at the same time. He wasn't sure that was the right thing to do, but he couldn't take it back now. They were avoiding talking about...anything. Erik had so many things he wanted to say, that he needed to say, but there would never be a good time. There was one thing he wanted to get out of the way, and he wasn't going to take no for an answer.  
When Celeste returned to the room, Erik steeled himself. "Celeste, what were you hiding from me, all those months ago?"  
Celeste's face went pale. "What do you mean?"  
"I mean that thing that you and Raven and Christine were all in on, but you all refused to tell me anything. What was that about?"  
Celeste sat down on the bed, turned away from him.  
"Don't you dare lie to me." He hissed.  
"I knew about that abandoned house because my husband's parents lived near it." Celeste said, talking very fast. "And I knew that little town very well. Well, I found out I was pregnant with Alec, and his mom happened to be there when I found out. I went into town to try and find a doctor to take care of it. I had an "appointment", but she had already told my husband. I already didn't love him, and I, unbeknownst to him, gambled away a lot of his money. I didn't want to hurt him by telling him I lost the baby. It was one thing I could do for him."  
"What does this have to do with anything?" Erik asked, confused.  
"Do you remember, when I was sick, after the concussion?"  
Erik was still trying to follow. "So?"  
She spread her hands. "I was pregnant."  
Erik stopped breathing. She had been pregnant? With his child? "That was months ago! You would be..." she very obviously was not pregnant. "What..." The pieces suddenly clicked in his head. "You...got rid of it?"  
Celeste stood, as though ready to defend herself. "I remembered the doctor from when I was still with my husband. In that town."  
Erik stood too. "Why didn't you tell me?"  
"I didn't want to have another kid!" Celeste yelled. "I'm not the mothering type! The aunt thing I can do, but carrying a baby and giving birth, only to be responsible for a human life for the rest of my life? I couldn't do it."  
"Do you just left me out of it? Killed our child so you could be comfortable?"  
"It wasn't your decision to make! It was mine!" Celeste retorted. "Besides, you told me all the damn time about how you wouldn't be a good father, and how you would poison a child and corrupt it, what was I supposed to think, that we'd suddenly step up and be good parents?"  
"I don't know. I guess we'll never know. And for another thing, you could have died! Those procedures are dangerous."  
"I know. Luckily I had Christine and Raven looking out for me. But I made the right choice, Erik. I know I did."  
Erik couldn't breath. He couldn't think. All he knew was he needed to get out of there.  
"We're only a few miles away from where Daren is. I'm going to head up that way, see if he's there."  
He left before she could respond.


	42. Chapter 42

Erik knocked on the door of the ground level flat, hoping for an answer, even though it was so late. The door swung open slowly, and a boy, around 19 or 20 opened the door. He had dark skin and scruffy brown hair. He had clearly just woken up.  
"Daren?" Erik asked cautiously.  
"Depends who's asking." He said slowly, his Italian accented by his Spanish roots.  
"My name is Erik, I knew your sister, Nicole."  
Daren perked up a little. "Nicole?"  
"Yeah."  
"How is she?" He looked so hopeful.  
"Daren, I'm so sorry, no one is more sorry than I am. But...she died, a few weeks ago, in childbirth."  
Daren looked like he got the wind knocked out of him. "Oh god. I can't..." he looked up at Erik, his eyes, shining. "Why don't you come inside."  
Erik followed him into the tiny flat, sitting on a sofa while Daren went into the back room. Another boy, this one Italian, came out of the back room.  
"It's so late." The boy murmured.  
"It's about Nicole." Daren muttered. He said something in Spanish Erik didn't understand.  
"Entiendo," the other boy muttered. He grabbed a coat and left the flat.  
"I don't imagine Nicole told you about me," Daren muttered, sitting across from Erik.  
"She did. At least about you and liking other boys."  
"Yeah. That's Antonio. He's cute but not really my type."  
"What is your type?" Erik asked.  
"Red hair, freckles, glasses. Intelligent, sensitive." Daren shrugged. "But it's whatever."  
Erik decided to jump into it. "Before your sister...she had twins. Two boys, Jamie and Jacques. We had been trying to find you. She wanted to reconnect with you."  
"What about her husband? What about our parents?"  
"Your sister was involved in a fire. Your parents and her husband..."  
"Wow. Okay." Daren let this sink in. "I don't know what to say."  
"Nicole would have wanted you to have the twins."  
"Me?"  
"I could stay with you for a few weeks, til you get settled." Erik offered. "But I can't take them, and I don't want them to go to an orphanage."  
Daren nodded. He cocked his head, looking at Erik. "What were you? To my sister, I mean."  
"I was just..." he remembered the nights they had spent, with her curled up in his arms, feeling safe for the first time in months, the quiet kissed they'd shared... "I was a good friend of hers. I knew her after the fire."  
Daren wiped the tears out of his eyes. "Can I see them? The twins?"  
"Of course."

Erik was sad and glad to see the twins go. Maybe he would finally get an entire night of sleep. And they had been a constant reminder of Nicole's death. He couldn't possibly blame two infants for the death of their mother, but at the same time...  
And of course there was Celeste. Maybe he wasn't going to get a full night's worth of sleep after all.  
"Are you still angry with me?" Celeste murmured as Erik entered their tavern bedroom.  
Erik didn't trust himself to speak as he moved past her, pulling off his boots.  
"I'm tired of playing these games." He said finally. "You and I... We just go back and forth endlessly."  
"So, are you going to leave me again?"  
"I didn't just- Dammit, Celeste, you make it sound like I just left on a whim! It was hard. And I wanted to help-" Nicole's name stuck in his throat. "And we both know you were entertaining the idea of leaving."  
Celeste did not deny or confirm that fact, but her silence was enough.  
Erik scoffed and threw his boots into a corner with a loud thump.  
"We've been torn apart and brought together so many times, only to be torn apart again. What if this just wasn't meant to be?" Erik muttered.  
Celeste nodded. What had she become? All of her fire was gone, the woman he had fallen in love with was gone. This wasn't Celeste. She was the shell of a woman who was dead. Celeste had died when Raven had. He simply didn't have the heart to chase her anymore.


	43. Chapter 43 (Epilogue)

One year later

Erik dismounted his horse as he looked up at the ruins before him. He had spent most of the last year in Italy, with Daren, but he finally decided it was time to let Daren raise the twins on his own.  
The Opera Populaire was nothing but shambles now, a ghost of its former self. Like he was. The entrance hall was falling apart around him, hanging beams revealing the light of day, torn walls letting in the chilled afternoon air. Erik let out a breath as he pushed aside a familiar panel in a once velvet lined wall, stepping into the stone corridors that were like home to him. He was home.

Celeste coughed weakly as her misted breath rose into the sky like a ghost. She ran her hands over the ground, gripping the dirt in her cold hands. She had once sat with Raven in this tree a lifetime ago...  
The fever had left her body weak and frail, and she knew it wasn't long now. She wasn't afraid of death. She had accepted it so many times during her life, times she wished she couldn't remember. She wanted to at least be left with the good memories. Of him.  
She laughed softly to herself as she raised a hand to her mouth and wiped away a trickle of blood. She didn't deserve him, but she would still remember his face with fondness as she sat here.  
She no longer felt guilty for what she had done. She was at ease with her soul.  
She sighed and leaned her head back on the trunk of the tree and let out one long, rattling breath. She had tried so many times to die, and here she was. Finally, she was free. At peace. Home.

*thank you so much for reading! there is a sequel to this, its called Blood rose! s/13370181/1/Blood-Rose


End file.
